2026 ARTISTS / VENDORS
Stop by and shop our fantastic vendors! From Western art, silver, beaded work, leather, and more, there’s something for everyone! Here’s a peak at who will be showcasing their work this year:
- Saturday FREE Public Shopping -
The Trade Show will be free and open to the public from 10am - 3pm on Saturday July 25th!
Regular ticketed shopping will be 4pm - 6pm on Friday and Saturday
ABBY CHANLEY
“My entire life has been centered around ranching and the cowboy lifestyle. I was raised as part of the 4th generation of my family’s cow/calf operation in Granite Station, CA, and currently work with my husband who manages a ranch just over the mountain from my childhood home.
When the opportunity to learn leather work fell into my lap this last year, I had never before considered getting into it. My husband and I started making cowboy gear, and I found a swivel knife, then never put it down. I’ve gradually learned the basics of leather work with the help of YouTube and a talented friend, but thought it was time to pursue more intentional learning. There is so much beauty in tooled leather, fine silver and braided rawhide, and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning to create beautiful things that are both unique and practical. I’ve used and appreciated western art and cowboy gear throughout my life, and look forward to being able to contribute to the western industry with my own take on things. I’m grateful to The Rodear for investing in artists and contributing to the learning process, and I’m very excited to be able to learn from artists I admire through this scholarship!”
AMANDA ARATA
“I founded Arata Leather and Silver with the idea that precious things should be used for everyday life. Some days are gentle, most are not, but at the darkest something shiny and made with love can be a small reminder that it will all be okay and if we allow it, God will make it incredible.
I’ve always loved shiny things, I enjoy making them, I enjoying wearing them and I enjoy catching them.”
AMY HALE
Amy was born in Texas to parents who taught her to love books and the natural world. She married a working ranch cowboy when she was 19, raising her children on cow camps all over West Texas and New Mexico. Living at the end of long dirt roads without telephone or television helped her cultivate her storytelling skills via long letters to friends and family... and always, she read books. Her writing career began in the mid-90s with the publication of first person humorous essays in western magazines. She moved to Arizona in 2008 to be with her new love, Gail Steiger, of Spider Ranch in Yavapai County. Cowboying on the Spider became the ink and inspiration for her pen.
Amy is the author of several books... creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. She and Gail spend many nights out of the year sleeping on the ground in remote camps, cooking over an open fire, and gathering cattle in the rough terrain of the Santa Maria Mountains. While Amy writes about the specific places she inhabits, she inspires audiences and readers to find and inhabit their own places in the world. Her distinct voice is infused by flash and slam, and her innate ability to distill ideas appeals to those who are aspiring to dwell in the sacred everyday, or longing to leave behind that which is safe but small.
ANN MINDER
“I live in Bridgeport, Ca with my husband Tim and my three kids, Pawahnee, Tsiidopi & Hugwapi. I was born and raised in Bishop, CA.
My passion is beading. I remember growing up and being taught by my Mom and other family members. It has fascinated me for years. It is an honor to introduce this year, my Mother, Elizabeth Manuelito, who will be joining me with all her beading ideas. She comes from Bishop, CA. She is a descendent of Bishop Paiute Tribal Member, Jessie Manuelito (mother) and Navajo Member, Johnny Manuelito (father). We are very excited to share our beading creations this year.”
CEILY RAE HIGHBERGER
Ceily Rae Highberger is a working cowgirl from Montana. After graduating from Montana State University with an agricultural degree, she has since worked in the ranching industry all over the Western United States including Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho, California, Utah, and Nevada. What really gets her pumped is being outdoors. Creating art (mainly photography), using the resources she has and fitting it in with the lifestyle she loves is her own personal mission statement. Her brand, C. Rae Photography & Design, is the beginning steps towards facilitating and achieving her dream life.
CLARA SMITH
Clara is a Western Artist and Graphic Designer from Bend, Oregon. She graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Fine Arts. Ever since she was little, Clara was drawing horses and creating. Her love for Western Art and Culture was heavily influenced by her late aunt, Western Artist Joelle Smith, who taught her how to draw and ride horses. Similar to Joelle’s work, Clara strives to document real Western life through her work, documenting culture and traditions of the American Cowboy. The authenticity of her work is very apparent as the subjects are all real people, real horses, set in real places.
ERIKA VICTOR
Erika Victor is an oil painter creating work from her home in Zuni, New Mexico. Her work focuses on both the landscapes and people of the west. Her art style uses exaggerated color and forms to present a dramatic, and often somewhat surreal, look at western America.
Her working process includes sketching, hiking and taking photos, before continuing with finished work in the studio. She has also spent time job shadowing, and creating paintings of ranchers in Smith Valley, Nevada.
HANNA BROWN
“My husband and I raise our three feral cowboy kids, one of whom is named after Sallie Joseph, on a ranch in Northeastern Nevada. I have been drawing horses since I could pick up a pencil and have always been influenced by my Granny who raised a gaggle of children while working and managing her own little farm on her own.
I suddenly lost my eyesight while I was serving in the Navy and had to spend years in different therapies to attain the eyesight I have now. While in recovery, I felt inspired by war veterans in various VA hospitals who would share their stories and photographs with me and I would take their images and repaint them as keepsakes. Their stories of hardship, pain and perseverance kept me going and inspired me throughout one of the most difficult times of my life where I felt like I couldn’t live through what I was experiencing.
Now, I find my inspiration from my husband, who is a working cowboy, and our three kids who proudly want to follow in his footsteps. There is nothing I love to draw or paint more than an older man’s face that tells a story without words, or a quirky cavvy horse that somehow becomes my new best friend. I still have a visual impairment and don’t have visual memory, so creating can be challenging but thankfully for me, art can be accessed by anyone willing to try. I am thankful that someone else recognized something creative and worthy in me and I look forward to new experiences through my scholarship.”
Jill Latno-Yamate
Jill Latno-Yamate is a silversmith and full-time engraver who resides in Central Oregon with her two children. Originally hailing from Napa, California, her family raises club cattle at their home in Madras.
She teaches at major events in the western industry, including Art of the Cowgirl and Pendleton Cattle Barons, and also works with students in her shop. Jill is a Signature Artist with Cowgirl Artists of America and recently completed a prestigious fellowship through the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association.
She has received many accolades, including Traditional Artist of the Year at the 2022 Women of the West awards. Jill’s favorite items to build in her shop are custom belt buckles and headstall silver. When she’s not focused on expanding her own education, she is passionate about helping other women succeed in the industry.
KAILEY KLEIN
Enamored with the western lifestyle from a young age, Kailey Klein grew up creating art that celebrated her rural life and the equine partners she ran wild with. Years later, while studying Agriculture at Oregon State University, Kailey discovered the craft of leather work. Kailey is now the maker and western artist behind the sought after brand, Magpie West Leather Co. On a remote ranch nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, she spends her days as a western creative, cowboy gal, ranch wife, and mother. She gathers inspiration for her one of a kind pieces from the wildflowers, livestock, cowboy culture, unique lifestyle, and rugged beauty of the west.
KIM HUNTER STEED
Kim Hunter Steed is a national award winning and published photographer specializing in western photography. She spent her childhood along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada from Owens Valley to Lake Almanor. This is where her love for the mountains and wildlife began. She dabbled in photography in the early 2000’s and poured her heart into it when she moved to Carson Valley, Nevada with her husband in 2018. Her photographs have appeared in Cowboys & Indians magazine, Tahoe Quarterly, Nevada magazine and Birds & Blooms magazine.
LAURA McDANIEL
Having started her creative journey as a child in 4-H, Laura McDaniel has been a maker for a long time. As her 5 children grew and time freed up, Laura began experimenting again with sewing and Second Half Manufacturing was created. Laura is a native Oregonian and a resident of the cowboy town of Prineville. She is surrounded by amazing resources and the creative inspiration of the western culture around her. Laura’s pieces reflect the balance between rugged leather and the beauty of Pendleton wool. “The biggest blessing I have discovered while stepping into this journey has been the people God has introduced into my life.”
LUCILE WEDEKING
Lucile Wedeking is a contemporary oil painter best-known for her interpretations merging the Old and New West. Her work combines a modern dreamscape of color often juxtaposed with historic western imagery pulled from extensive archival treasure hunts.
In addition to her professional studio practice, Lucile enjoys time spent raising registered and pure bred Brangus cattle with her husband and family on their West Texas ranch.
MARY CERISE
“I'm the one woman show behind Hanging Moon Silver, I'm moon to 3 daughters and ranch full time in rural Idaho. I'm beyond grateful for the support and opportunities I've been given by Cowgirl Art Rodear, and I literally cannot wait to attend this year's program. The last two years I tried to attend we've had fire on our range so I'm crossing my fingers and my toes that we've had our fair share of fire and will be ready to roll in July! I am especially looking forward to the face to face conversations I'll have with other makers and artists as well as those amazing and dedicated women behind the face of the Rodear. It's an honor to be a part of such an incredible group of women in an event that really captures the culture of the working west. Cheers to Cowgirl Art Rodear 2023. I look forward to seeing my friends and making many new ones in Bridgeport!”
JOYE LEHEN + MARY LENT
“I am Laguna Pueblo and I was born in New Mexico and raised in California. I spent summers in New Mexico with my grandparents. My grandma taught me how to bead when I was young. It all started with a daisy chain and then loom work.
I raised 6 children in beautiful Bridgeport.”
MEGAN DOHERTY-SPANGLE
“The foothills of the western Sierra Nevada Mountains are where my family and I call home. My husband, children and I have a small cow calf operation while working day jobs in construction. As long as I can remember I have had a longing for and a love of creating. As an artist I have worked with different mediums and methods but always had a longing for Silversmithing. For far too many years life got in the way and that dream was put on the back burner. A couple of years ago I took a leap and started working towards my dream with "Be A Maker School". It gave me the foundation and confidence to pursue my dreams and now thanks to the Cowgirl Art Rodear Scholarship I am blessed to be able to grow and refine my skill set even further. My dream and goal is to create one of a kind family heirloom pieces that carry meaning and love for generations.”
MELISSA LACKORE
“As long as I can remember, I have been doing some form of art work. When I got older, leatherwork became a natural outlet of creative expression for me, and I was very drawn to the idea that I could create beautiful and functional pieces. I have been doing leatherwork for three years now, and it has supported me as a side hustle through college. Now that I have graduated from UNR, I hope to focus on my leather business and continue to grow as an artist and entrepreneur. The most rewarding part of being a craftsman is seeing my work “in the wild,” being enjoyed by those that I have made it for.”
MORGAN ANDERSON
“I grew up as the sixth generation on my family’s cow/calf operation in south central Montana. Growing up, my dad always kept my sister and I on good horses and using nice tack, which I know I took for granted at the time. My upbringing sparked a deep love for agriculture and western life. This last summer I worked on the C-J ranch in Two Dot Montana, where my managers and co-ranch-hands showed me all of the amazing saddles, bits, and braiding they were building. Watching them, I developed a deep appreciation for the creativity and craftsmanship that built the tack I use and grew up using. I was eager to build something of my own. I was riding a colt for my dad that summer, and was convinced by my manager to start him out in a hackamore. I loved the feel of a hackamore and became intrigued with the workings of bosals and braiding. And so I was hooked! I started processing my own hides that summer, and took them with me to school in Wyoming in the fall. My gracious roommates never blinked when I transformed our mudroom into a storage room for my hides and strings, and commandeered our dining room table as my new work bench. I am working hard toward building functional, yet beautiful, pieces that will carry on the tradition of braiding and last a lifetime. It is truly an honor to have an opportunity to take up this age-old art form. I am glad to have found this way to express my creativity in building functional useful tack.”
REMI JOHNSON
“My name is Remi Johnson and I’m a silversmith from Southeastern Utah. My journey into silversmithing came quite accidentally as it was never anything on my radar as a career. In 2021 my husband introduced me to one of his close friends, who is a silversmith, and she graciously taught me how to make a ring. She has since then grown to be one of my closest friends. My style has changed and grown since I first started down this path, and I am very happy with how the progression has been.
Silversmithing has not been a linear thing for me as it began just before having my first daughter. I currently balance stay-at-home mothering with also being a full-time silversmith. I have taken two large breaks as I welcomed each of my girls into our life. They are absolutely a part of everything that I do, and they are one of my driving factors to get better every day. In my free time I am out in the beautiful Utah desert gathering inspiration for new works.
Cowboy culture is also a huge inspiration as well since that is where my love for this craft came from. I have been drawn to engraving since the beginning and knew it was something I wanted to incorporate into my work. I’d love to one day create a bit or two with engraved filigree!”
ROBIN EGAN
Robin Egan is a member of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. After growing up in northeastern Montana, Robin returned to her birthplace of Owyhee, Nevada, during high school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Boise State University and pursued her career in teaching with the Elko County School District at Owyhee Combined Schools until her retirement in 2023. Robin began beading for family over twenty years ago, when her niece showed interest in dancing at powwows. Through trial, error, and much advice from elders and friends, Robin has excelled at beadworking.
SARAH SMITH
Sarah Smith was raised on a commercial cow/calf operation in the foothills of Bakersfield, CA. Over the years she developed a deep passion for creating a variety of items including jewelry, three piece buckle sets and saddle hardware. Sarah has studied under master engravers Jeremiah Watt and Diane Scalese, as well as others. Each piece Sarah makes is handmade, custom to the individual and one of a kind. Her work can be found around the world. Most recently Sarah has studied with Ernie Marsh.
SHANIA DRINKWINE WAGENAAR
“I’m Shania Drinkwine Wagenaar, a silversmith, leatherworker, and full-time maker living in a rural Northeastern Oregon ranching and farming community. I’m married to a fourth-generation cattle rancher and mom to four young kids. We live the working cowboy life every day. That life has given me a deep love not just for “pretty” gear, but for quality, functional working gear that holds up on the ranch. I aspire to become a name that working ranchers and cowboys think of when they need to invest in reliable, lasting pieces.
I make many things, but my focus has shifted to building functional, heirloom-quality gear—bits, spurs, chinks/chaps, functional tack, pulled wool pads—items working cowboys can trust day in and day out and pass down through generations.
Today I lead our local 4-H leathercraft group using heirloom tools passed down from my husband’s great-uncle, who once taught the same group himself. Someday I hope to teach as a Master Instructor, passing these Western traditions forward to the next generation.
The SKJS scholarship is helping me take the next big step in my silverwork: advancing my fabrication and engraving skills specifically for bits. I’m so grateful for this support. It’s allowing me to honor the heritage I live every day and build a legacy through my hands.
Change a cowgirl artist’s future!
With the investment of supporters like you, we can support our Scholarship Program, produce our annual July Event, develop educational workshops, and continue outreach.