68 • The WRANGLER • August, 2023
and what the Association has become," she said.
Fay Ann Horton Leach's years of
dedication to rodeo put her in Hall
Fay Ann Horton Leach was one of the founding
members of the Girls Rodeo Association.
Leach's devotion to the sport has not gone
unnoticed as she was inducted as a notable in the
2023 ProRodeo Hall of Fame class in Colorado
Springs.
Leach led the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA-now
WPRA) as a founding member, competitor, and board
member. One of the 38 women who met in San
Angelo, Texas, on Feb. 28, 1948, to form the very first
professional sports association created solely for
women by women.
"It didn't set in for a long time that I was going to be
a Hall of Famer," she said. "I can't really understand
why I'm being inducted because all I've ever done
is just work hard in my everyday life. But I'm really
thankful for it I can tell you that. I think one of the
things that I appreciate the most was getting to travel
the country and meeting a lot of wonder people that
are still really close friends of mine."
Leach never won a world title in the barrel racing,
but she qualified for nine consecutive NFRs (1959-
1967). She would finish third in the world in 1962
behind Sherry Johnson, a fellow 2023 ProRodeo Hall
of Fame inductee, and Wanda Bush.
Like many cowgirls during this era, they competed
in many different events with calf roping being one
of Leach's favorites. In fact, she broke her mentor's
streak of six consecutive titles in the calf roping when
she beat Bush for the world title in 1957. She would
add three more of those titles in 1959, 1963 and 1971.
She won the all-around in 1960, the flag race world
title in 1964 and one that might surprise everyone
was her bull riding title in 1966.
In 1967, Fay Ann married Billy Leach, who competed
in the RCA roping calves and steer wrestling. Together
they founded Billy Leach Ropes.
In 2011, she was inducted into the Texas Rodeo
Cowboy Hall of Fame under the category of
Trailblazers and now she is immortalized in the
ProRodeo Hall of Fame for her dedication to building
a strong foundation for women in rodeo.
