Journal Notes

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

The women of early Hollywood didn’t just act brave—they lived it. In Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women, you’ll meet legends like Vera McGinnis, a champion rider whose fearless talent made even seasoned cowboys take notice. As one 1928 newspaper declared, she could send her horse flying over obstacles “few of the roughriders of Hollywood would attempt.”

On the massive set of Cimarron, with thousands of extras charging across dangerous terrain, Vera stood alone as the only woman trusted to make the land run on horseback. Prairie dog holes, runaway wagons, and inexperienced riders turned the scene into real peril—but Vera guided her horse through it all, proving why directors relied on her when the stakes were highest.

Her journey to that moment was anything but easy. From a determined young rider in Missouri to a world-class rodeo champion, Vera battled injuries, hardship, and heartbreak—all while perfecting the daring skills that would define her career. Whether racing across arenas, performing Roman riding, or doubling for Hollywood stars, she built a reputation as one of the toughest and most versatile stuntwomen of her time.

Daughters of Daring brings Vera’s incredible story—and those of many other overlooked pioneers—back into the spotlight. These were the women who risked everything for the shot, often without recognition.

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the fearless cowgirls who helped shape Hollywood history.

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The Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Before Hollywood had safety rigs and stunt doubles, there was Anita Bush – a fearless pioneer who helped redefine what women, and especially Black women, could do on screen.

Born on September 1, 1883, Bush began her career as a dancer before stepping into vaudeville at just sixteen with the act William and Walker. Her life changed when director Richard Norman saw her perform and cast her opposite rodeo legend Bill Pickett in the groundbreaking Western The Bull-Dogger.

Bush had no formal riding experience, but she had grit. As she famously wrote, she had “lots of nerve” and could learn anything quickly. And she proved it. For the film, she learned to ride horses and rope steers, performing her own stunts under Pickett’s guidance. No doubles. No shortcuts. Just raw courage.

She followed that performance with a starring role in The Crimson Skull, one of the first Westerns to feature an all-Black cast. At a time when Hollywood limited Black actors to stereotypes, Bush broke barriers by taking on dramatic, action-driven roles—earning praise for her versatility and screen presence.

Determined to create more opportunities, Bush founded her own theatrical company, the Anita Bush Players of Harlem (later known as the Lafayette Players), championing serious roles for Black performers. Off-screen, she was just as formidable—negotiating contracts and even securing higher pay than some of her leading men.

Anita Bush wasn’t just a performer, she was a trailblazer who rode straight into Hollywood history and changed the script for those who followed.

Her incredible story and those of other fearless women of the West are featured in Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women.

To learn more and enter for your chance to win a copy of the book!

Just returned home from the first of several book promotional tours for Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women — and what an unforgettable journey it has been.

The tour included wonderful stops in Prescott at the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Western Heritage Center, followed by lively events in Tombstone at JL Silver and Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, and a warm and enthusiastic gathering at Boot Hill Books in Sierra Vista. I am deeply grateful to the readers, booksellers, historians, and Western enthusiasts who came out to celebrate the daring women who helped shape Hollywood’s early action films.

In between book events, I had the tremendous pleasure of working on the production of the short film According to Kate, which explores the life and times of Kate Elder, the legendary love of Doc Holliday. The talent both in front of and behind the camera has been extraordinary, and filming at the historic Mescal, Arizona movie location — the backdrop for classics such as Tombstone and The Quick and the Dead — made the experience even more meaningful. The film is slated for release this fall, with its premiere planned for the Tombstone Territory Rendezvous Annual Symposium in October before heading out to film festivals everywhere.

Meanwhile, Daughters of Daring continues to receive a warm reception from readers and reviewers alike. As syndicated book columnist Terri “The Bookworm Sez” Schlichenmeyer noted:
“Chris Enss brings to life a whole cadre of performers who were feminists before feminism even existed, living life on their own terms when such a thing was rare . . . a must-have for Western novel fans, of course, but movie buffs and readers of women’s history will want it, too. Daughters of Daring is exciting, revealing, and perfect for when you need a break.”

I am truly grateful the book has been so well received.

Enter now to win a copy — and stay tuned for upcoming tour dates and film news!

The adventure continues…

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Racing horses. Dangerous falls. No stunt doubles for the stuntwomen.

Long before modern stunt coordinators and safety rigs, fearless horsewomen helped create the action audiences loved in early Western films. One of those daring performers was Ione Reed.

Reed was among the talented cowgirls Hollywood relied on to double for actresses in demanding riding scenes and dangerous stunts. Racing across rugged terrain, executing precision riding maneuvers, and taking hard falls were all part of the job. These women brought authenticity and excitement to the screen at a time when few of them received on-screen credit for their work.

Like many stunt women of the era, Ione Reed possessed exceptional horsemanship and the grit required to perform under difficult conditions. Studios depended on cowgirls like her to make Western heroines appear fearless in the saddle—yet the women doing the real work behind the scenes were rarely photographed and almost never recognized.

Their stories are finally being told in Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women, my book celebrating the brave and highly skilled women who helped shape the action and spectacle of early Hollywood Westerns.

These remarkable performers risked injury, and sometimes their lives, to make movie magic. It’s time their legacy rides into the spotlight.

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Please note the image used here is not an endorsement for cigarette use

Chris Enss Hits Arizona with

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Get ready, Arizona! Award-winning author Chris Enss is bringing her fascinating exploration of Hollywood’s fearless cowgirl stunt women to a series of stops across the state. Meet Chris, get your book signed, and hear the incredible stories of the women who risked it all to make movie magic happen.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

• Saturday, March 7 – Prescott

  • Book signing at Prescott Western Heritage Center: 10 a.m.–noon

  • Sharlot Hall Museum presentation and signing: 1–3 p.m.

• Friday, March 13 – Tombstone

  • Tombstone Book Festival: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

• Saturday, March 14 – Tombstone & Sierra Vista

  • Book signing at JL Silver (Tombstone): 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

  • Book signing at Boot Hill Books (Sierra Vista): 3–4 p.m.

Praise for Daughters of Daring:
“My hats off to Enss, I will never watch a Western again without wondering what great ‘daughter of daring’ is making the action look so easy — and dangerous at the same time.”
— Stuart Rosebrook, True West Magazine

Enter now to win a copy of Daughters of Daring

Don’t miss this chance to celebrate the women who brought courage,

skill, and sparkle to the silver screen.

Enter now to win a copy of

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

A well-used buckboard pulled by four sturdy horses rolled lazily along a rugged, dusty road, a blustery wind sweeping across the rocky mountains rising behind it. Seated beside the driver was cowgirl actress Dale Evans, dressed in a stylish mid-1940s business suit, while actor-musician Pat Brady handled the reins. In the back, members of Sons of the Pioneers laughed, talked, and played a fiddle, harmonica, and guitar, filling the air with music as the cameras prepared to roll.

Under the direction of accomplished filmmaker William Witney, the cast of Bells of San Angelo moved through the opening scenes introducing Dale’s character. The mood was peaceful—until a lone rider burst from behind a rock outcropping and spurred his horse toward the buckboard. Gunshots cracked through the mountain air, shattering the calm and sending the team lunging forward. It was the kind of high-octane action audiences expected—and the kind that required extraordinary riding skill behind the scenes.

That’s where talented horsewomen like Alice made their mark. The following year she competed in the Ventura County rodeo, winning the title of Champion Lady Trick Rider of California. Audiences were enthralled by her equestrian abilities, marveling as “the diminutive blonde drew all eyes with her daredevil stunts on the back of a racing horse.”

To learn more about Alice and the fearless women who helped shape Hollywood Westerns, read Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women.

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I’m delighted to announce that West Went the Word: Women Evangelists on the Frontier will be published by TCU Press.

Early women evangelists served an essential and often overlooked role in America’s history. In a nation where business, politics, social reform, and religion were deeply intertwined, these women found their work expanding far beyond the pulpit. They furthered westward exploration and settlement through relentless soul-seeking efforts, while influencing politics, social legislation, Indian policy, and social welfare. They founded colleges and universities, established Indian missions and schools, and built orphanages—shaping communities in lasting ways.

West Went the Word tells the story of a dozen courageous women who braved the frontier to carry their message to the farthest reaches of the American West. Their lives reveal a powerful intersection of faith, reform, resilience, and nation-building at a time when women’s public roles were sharply constrained—yet boldly expanded by necessity.

Although West Went the Word is a work of nonfiction, it is especially meaningful to partner with TCU Press, recently named one of the Best Western Fiction Presses by True West Magazine, a leading voice in Western history and storytelling. For nearly eight decades, TCU Press has published books exploring the complexity, character, and cultural history of Texas and the American West. With a catalog of more than 750 titles—from literary Western fiction to deeply researched histories and narrative nonfiction—the press has long documented the people, landscapes, and defining moments of this region.

As Fort Worth stands at the center of renewed national interest in Western culture, TCU Press continues its commitment to publishing work that honors the depth, diversity, and evolving story of the West. I’m honored to partner with them on West Went the Word.

Scheduled for release in 2028, West Went the Word brings these remarkable frontier evangelists back into the historical conversation, restoring their voices to the story of how the American West was shaped.

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

“Miss Wiggins of late has been one of the most sought-after doubles in the movie colony of Hollywood. Sensational jumps from high cliffs, motorcycle spills, dives from ships at sea are all part of the day’s work for her while doubling for movie stars.” Auburn Journal, August 1, 1929

Mary Wiggins’s head bobbed beneath the icy, choppy waters of the Nooksack River near Mt. Baker in the state of Washington. Her legs struggled to bring her back toward the sun-speckled surface. When she broke through she quickly gulped at the winter air and then with barely a splash went under again. The camera crew, standing safely on the riverbank, watched in rapt silence as they filmed the stuntwoman’s realistic drowning scene.

Mary was one of the best stuntwomen in the business having perfected the art of portraying a distressed victim fighting the river’s strong current from taking her under. Until the former award-winning diver arrived in Hollywood in 1927, drowning scenes were played in a broad, melodramatic way. They were loud and splashy and the stunt double would yell and frantically wave their arms. They would dip below the waves screaming and come up in a dramatic fashion while those on the shore scrambled to rescue them.

Mary’s technique was much more subdued but none the less effective. The temperature of the water was fifteen below zero and she was adorned in thick wool trousers, a large coat, and heavy boots. She held herself under the water as long as she dared. Her hair rose upwards like seaweed, rippling in the current, then with superhuman effort she emerged completely out of the water. Director William Wellman shouted, “cut” and the technicians working on the 1935 film Call of the Wild hurried to help Mary out of the freezing river. Her part was so seamlessly woven into 20^th Century Picture’s adaptation of Jack London’s popular novel, audiences couldn’t tell her from Loretta Young, the star in which she was doubling.

Between 1930 and 1931, Mary appeared in a handful of Western films starring Ken Maynard. Maynard was a champion rodeo rider and a trick rider with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show turned actor. Mary helped Maynard choregraph and executed stunts for the women in the pictures that included falling off galloping horses and runaway wagons, and leaping out a window to escape the villain.

Daughters of Daring

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To discover more about remarkable trailblazers like Mary Wiggins, read

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

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Exciting news!

C-SPAN will be on hand to cover the official launch of Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women at Book Soup (8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood) on Saturday, February 28 at 4 p.m. The event will spotlight the fearless women who rode hard, took the falls, and helped shape the Western film genre, often without credit, but never without courage.

Even more exciting, Daughters of Daring will be featured on Book TV throughout the entire month of March, bringing national attention to the untold stories of Hollywood’s original stuntwomen and cowgirl pioneers.

The momentum continues to build—the book is currently ranked #8 on Amazon in the category of Western Movies, a testament to readers’ enthusiasm for these remarkable women and their daring contributions to cinema history.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, join us at 8818 Sunset Blvd. for this special afternoon celebrating grit, glamour, and groundbreaking women of the silver screen. And if you can’t attend in person, tune in to Book TV in March to catch the coverage.

Enter now to win a copy of Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women. Don’t miss your chance to own this tribute to the brave women who made movie magic one wild ride at a time.