Wrinkled Wranglers keep cowgirl passion alive for women 31 and up

There is a group of mysterious female riders around these parts. Perhaps you’ve seen or heard of them. They don’t cause any harm in the community, in fact they do just the opposite. Their proclaimed mission is to inspire and connect through a variety of events and adventures.

They are known as the Wrinkled Wranglers.

This cowgirl group in Clark County is made up of women ages 31 and up. According to the group, most of the gals have long since given up their childhood dreams of riding into the sunset or their days in the show ring.

“She married, raised her kids, was maybe a ‘show-mom’ or ‘4H mom’ but always others came first and mostly their husbands had no interest,” a description on their website reads. “Finally these women were at a point in life where they could do for themselves.”

Since a few years ago, the Wrinkled Wrangles have grown up quite a bit and have become a great addition to this area’s notable horse scene. Today, they have 28 members.

Examples of events they’ve contributed to include the 2014 Washington Horse Expo, the 2015 Clark County Fair and doing parking control the last three years for the annual October Cider Festival at Grist Mill in Woodland.

When it comes to fundraising, they’ve had a big impact as well.

Each year, they donate funds to the Ripley's Horse Aid, and they also host the Whipple Creek Prize Ride each September in Ridgefield as a fundraiser for the park. In 2015, they were also proud to raise over $700 at the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night at the Clark County Rodeo. Lastly, the Wrinkled Wranglers have a parade team that participates in many of the local festivals. The last two years they’ve even won the Best Equestrian Group trophy in the Portland Grand Floral Parade.

“We are a very community minded group,” says queen of the group, Bobbi Luper. “We like to have fun.”

In the near future, the Wrinkled Wranglers are hoping to have more fun with a “1st Annual Ranch Rodeo” they’re hosting at the Clark County Saddle Club on April 1.

The Ranch Rodeo will consist of five events: Barrels, sorting, milking, roping, and branding. Within that setup, teams of four people will compete in every event (with the exception of sorting, where two teams of two will count for the best time).

“This is a playday with a twist, so I can't give away all the secrets,” said Luper on what else may occur.

Overall, the rodeo is designed for all skill levels and not every event will have a rider. Some will have ground support. Signing up can either be done as a team on their Facebook page facebook.com/40somethingCowgirls or at registration. Children are welcome with an adult present, but they must be able to ride solo. Additionally, Luper says DJ Glenn will announce the rodeo and there will be some “yummy food.”

Outside of the public eye, the Wrinkled Wranglers do activities on their own as well. Once a month, the group does an official ride together, but also ends up doing two or three extra impromptu rides depending on the weather.

Luper said their regular trail rides are at locations such as

L. L. Stub Stewart or McIver State Parks in Oregon, Beacon Rock in Stevenson, Battle Ground Lake, the Kalama Horse Camp and Woodland Bottoms. She said they usually last two or three hours.

Once a month, the group also has a business meeting, but as it turns out, most of the time their rides accomplish that.

“You would not believe how much planning we can get accomplished on a casual trail ride,” said Luper jokingly.

That kind of thing is what the Wrinkled Wranglers say makes them special.

“I am really blessed with some amazing goal-oriented gals who don't need to meet constantly to get things accomplished,” said Luper. “We are a bunch of gals who are not afraid to wrinkle their Wranglers to ride their horses.”

The Wrinkled Wranglers are a local chapter of 40 Something Cowgirls, a national horse lovers club for mature women. To learn more about the group or membership visit denise216.wixsite.com/wrinkled-wranglers-.