Helen Katherine Sohrens was a strong and determined woman of German decent. She was born June 16, 1889 in Hamburg, Germany. She came to Cheyenne, Wyoming with her family at 18 months old. Her father worked for the railroad and the family made their home at 1017 W. 18th Street.

Her prowess to become a cowgirl began at an early age. She claims to have ridden in history’s first Frontier Days parade and for many consecutive years thereafter. In an article printed in the Wyoming Eagle on Friday, July 21, 1939, she was quoted as saying that when she was 10 years old she won the donkey riding contest and was awarded $5.00 and a ticket to Frontier Days.
In 1910 she competed in the Denver Post Ladies’ Relay Race and the Ladies’ Cowpony Race at Frontier Days with such rivals as the Irwin girls (Joella, Gladys and Pauline) as well as Mrs. Clayton Danks (Marie). On the first day of the Denver Post Ladies’ Relay Race, which was one and one-half miles long, the Wyoming Tribune wrote, “Mrs. Helen Bowen was thrown in the last lap of the race by a fractious horse and a loose cinched saddle. She fell upon her face scratching it rather painfully, and was knocked breathless, being carried from the field on a stretcher.” The final results declared her winning 2nd place while Mrs. Clayton Danks took 1st and Joella Irwin won 3rd.

Helen rode and roped with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and participated in its final performance in North Platte, Nebraska in 1911.

In 1912 she competed in the Denver Post Ladies’ Relay Race and in the Ladies’ Cowpony Race. Helen took 2nd place in the Ladies’ Cowpony Race riding two horses, Bullet and Lady, owned by the Cook’s. In 1913, she competed in the Relay Race and Cowpony Race again coming in 3rd in the Cowpony Race. In 1913 she also competed in the Ladies’ Steer Roping contest for World’s Championship. The final results of the Steer Roping Contest declared Helen winning 3rd place with a time of 31 2-5 seconds.

In 1914 she once again competed in the Denver Post Ladies’ Relay Race and in the Ladies’ Cowpony Race. She placed 2nd in the Denver Post Ladies’ Relay Race and 3rd but her victory came when she won the World Championship Ladies’ Steer Roping Contest with a time of 22 seconds flat. Along with money and a set of silverware, her prize was a spot rope with a brass honda for fancy rope spinning awarded by L.F. Foster. History documents that the Ladies’ Steer Roping contest was then discontinued due to the lack of entertainment. Steer roping was very difficult for women because of upper body strength, but these women deserve great credit for their participation and determination to compete. According to the Rules and Regulations of 1914, the contest was governed by the same rules as in the Men’s Steer Roping Contest.
Helen claims to have ridden at the famous 101 Ranch Rodeos, Participated with the Charley Irwin and Ed McCarty rodeo strings, and performed stage tricks with her rope at the Atlas Theater.

She later owned a 640 acre homestead at Horse Creek. She would occasionally hitch up the buckboard and head for Cheyenne to get supplies. Her grandson recalls the ride to be rather bumpy. She also owned her own brand (quarter circle, lazy H, reverse J) which her granddaughter and great granddaughter still own to this day.

Her diabetic condition took her leg in 1957 and she died shortly thereafter at the age of 68. At the time of her death she was known as Helen Bowen Johnson and was residing with her son at 1020 Pioneer. She lies at rest in the Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.

Helen had a great passion for the old west as evidenced in the scrapbooks and personal memoirs she left behind. She was a local cowgirl who loved and lived for Frontier Days.