Pictured above from left to right are Carly Cheyney Rallison, London Owens, and Sierra Cheyney, who served as Whoopie Girls at this year’s Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo and Parade. All three Valley girls are from Liberty. Photo courtesy of Shauna Cheyney. (click to enlarge)

Three Liberty Locals Saddle Up as Ogden Pioneer Days 'Whoopie Girls'
16 August 2026
 
This July, three Valley girls from Liberty—Carly Cheyney Rallison, London Owens, and Sierra Cheyney—served as Whoopie Girls at the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo and Parade. The team of riders was coached by Cari Montgomery Southwick, who grew up in Huntsville.

Today’s Whoopie Girls, seen only at Ogden Pioneer Days, are a far cry from being a poster girl for a celebration. Chosen by audition from up to 25 young cowgirls who apply each year, these amazing horsewomen serve as goodwill ambassadors. They must be between 16 and 35 years old, be experienced riders, and provide, care for, and transport their own horses with rodeo and flag presentation experience. During the rodeo, they demonstrate horsemanship proficiency as they race around the stadium carrying sponsor flags multiple times each night, and they also ride their horses in the Grand Parade on July 24th.

Their role also extends deep into the heart of the community. Whoopie Girls are very involved with children with special needs. They sign autographs, help with the special needs rodeo, teach line dancing to special needs kids, and help with numerous community events.
"My family has been involved in ranching and rodeo for generations and it is always fun to represent the Valley and our western heritage at Pioneer Days," twenty-year-old London shared.

London is the daughter of Mike and Ashley Owens.

Both Carly and Sierra have found a lot of joy and success in being Whoopie Girls. For Sierra, the experience goes far beyond the arena and the crowds. “It does not have to make sense to anyone else. If it brings you joy, that is all that matters," she explained. "Someone will always be prettier, smarter, or stronger. Your only focus is your own inner peace and getting 1% better every single day.”

Carly and Sierra love to ride bareback in the mountains by their home all year long. For the sisters, riding is a passion deeply intertwined with the messy reality that horses can have a mind of their own. The consequent tears of frustration have only made them stronger and added to their grit.

As twenty-year-old Carly notes, "God couldn't give cowgirl wings so he gave us horses."

Carly and twenty-five-year-old Sierra are the daughters of Shay and Shauna Cheyney.

Shay and Shauna Cheyney are so proud of their strong, gritty daughters, noting how much they love watching them.

History of Whoopie Girl

This dedication carries forward a legacy that began with Ogden Mayor Harman W. Peery’s vision in 1934 to create an iconic image to promote Ogden Pioneer Days. Exactly where the Whoopie Girl name came from has been lost to history, though the word was used as a catch-all to describe light-hearted merrymaking of all sorts. Inspired by an Enoch Bolles painting on the cover of Film Fun magazine, Mayor Peery found his first Whoopie Girl in 1936, during the heart of the Great Depression. He saw fourteen-year-old Lorene Donaldson displaying extraordinary horsemanship skills in local shows and handling a spirited horse in a parade. When called to the mayor's office, she thought she might get a job as an usher at the Egyptian Theater. Instead, he offered her the chance to become Ogden's first rodeo queen.
 
Donaldson had her photograph taken in a costume that replicated Bolles’ poster, merging rodeo skill with queenly grace. The image spread like wildfire to more than 1,400 newspapers across the country, reaching international publications and even making headlines in China. From that day on, this image of a cowgirl twirling a lasso became the nationally recognized symbol of Ogden’s famous rodeo. Lorene's legacy lives on; years later, her granddaughter Melissa and great-granddaughters Kami and Macy wore replicas of her iconic costume in the Pioneer Parade, proving that some spirits are truly timeless.
 
The original 1934 artwork by Enoch Boles has its own dramatic history. Obtained after Peery contacted magazine editor Lester C. Grady for full authority to use the image in advertising, the artwork was kept by Ogden City until it disappeared in August 2003. Susie VanHooser, a former city councilwoman, filed a police report in 2006. After being appraised at $30,000 or more by University of Indiana professor John S. Raglin, the piece was anonymously returned in 2008. It was left on the doorstep of Nate Pierce, a former foundation chairman, accompanied by a letter explaining it had been a gift from a woman who did not have the authority to give it. Today, verified by an authorization letter attached to the back, the original is safely back in the hands of the celebration committee.