Cowgirls Live Forever ‘25
Editor & Photographer: Nick Blevins
It’s Rodeo time here in San Antonio, and you know what that means: We’re talking big boots and big hats. We’re talking denim and leather; bold textures and bright colors. We’re talking frontier fashion, the kind that makes your fellow cowpokes sit straight, take note, and ask, “Who is she?”
Cowgirls Live Forever, a San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo fashion show and luncheon supporting education in Texas, celebrated their 19th anniversary at the Witte Museum’s Mays Family Center on Wednesday. Musician Ponciano Seoane’s rich vocal work and intricate guitar stylings welcomed guests to the space, while portraits of past honorees flashed on a large display looming over a long catwalk in the back of the hall. The room filled with attendees in their western best, who found their tables and sat for a brief blessing over their meals, before a recent Madison high school graduate and “raiser”–one who keeps or raises animals for commercial purposes–praised the event and its scholarship efforts, kicking off the runway segment.
Following the fashion show, southwestern landscape artist and 2025 honoree Caroline Carrington reflected on her career and life path. The women honored each year are selected for their exemplification of “the characteristics which preserve our western heritage and help to shape Texas agriculture and the youth of Texas”. To date, Cowgirls Live Forever has raised over $2.2 million for scholarship funding. Donations may still be made at sarodeo.com/f/79.
