An all-around champion cowgirl, Fern was raised on a ranch where her father insisted she perform as well as the men if she was to help with the ranch work. Fern applied this same philosophy to her rodeo career, competing in men’s events in rodeos because she found women’s events too infrequent and uninspiring. Sawyer said she was most proud of her performance at the 1945 Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and Rodeo where she claimed first place against a large field of men, becoming the first woman to win the National Cutting Horse championship title.
