Rose Gottsch was watching the National High School Finals Rodeo competition when she turned to her dad Patrick and asked why there wasn鈥檛 a cowgirl channel.
The elder Gottsch was in a unique position to answer his daughter, who is now 9 years old.
Patrick is patriarch of the Gottsch family and of the Rural Media Group. The multimedia company promotes rural, ranching and rodeo programming with offerings like RFD-TV, The Cowboy Channel and .
鈥淭hanks to Rose, pointing out the obvious, now there鈥檚 the Cowgirl Channel,鈥� he said on a stage in front of the company鈥檚 studios in the Stockyards.
With a crowd seated on the front lawn and others standing along East Exchange Avenue, 12-year-old , sang a set of country classics, ahead of the celebration鈥檚 live broadcast.
Noting that the first of March is also the beginning of , Mayor Mattie Parker declared March 1, 2023, as The Cowgirl Channel Day in Fort Worth.
In a short speech, Parker said that the network鈥檚 genesis provides an important lesson.
鈥淲hen a young woman says 鈥業 have a good idea,鈥� you listen and then you implement it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭heir ideas matter and, with the right gumption behind them, this can happen. How special is that?鈥�
For Parker, the women鈥檚 rodeo, lifestyle and other original programming that will be broadcast on this channel offers a needed counter to current offerings on other networks.
鈥淚n an age where oftentimes women are relegated to silliness 鈥� there鈥檚 an entire network (named) Bravo that focuses on women fighting with one another and what kind of purse they can buy 鈥� this channel will be different. This channel is about women doing hard work and the Western heritage that put Texas and cities like Fort Worth on the map. And for that, I鈥檓 incredibly grateful and so proud to stand up here today and celebrate,鈥�&苍产蝉辫;she said.
The channel will air women鈥檚 rodeo sports and lifestyle programming for 鈥渢he modern cowgirl鈥� 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Signature shows include 鈥淔armHer,鈥� 鈥淩anchHer,鈥� 鈥淲omen鈥檚 Western Sports Roundup鈥� and others.
, rodeo legend and of the Women鈥檚 Professional Rodeo Association, attended the event and watched 12-year-old Luttrull鈥檚 performance in awe.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just so exciting to see what鈥檚 happening now with the Cowgirl Channel and what it can do for the women in the sport of professional rodeo,鈥� Munroe said. 鈥淭o have a channel that鈥檚 designed just to highlight and showcase the women and to tell their stories is really exciting.鈥�
RFD -TV was launched 22 years ago, and The Cowboy Channel made its debut in 2017.
Pam Minick hosts 鈥溾�� on the flagship channel and emceed the event.
鈥淲hen he (Patrick) first told me that he wanted to launch the Cowgirl Channel, I thought it was a lofty goal for Mr. Gottsch 鈥� especially when he told me that in November and said he wanted to launch it this spring,鈥� she told the crowd. 鈥淏ut after 22 years of working with him, I knew not to doubt his vision, his passion or his ambition.鈥�
Shows like Minick鈥檚 and others highlighting cowgirls have always been important to the Rural Media Group, Gottsch said.
鈥淭o me, this kind of wraps up the package of what we started 鈥� Serving rural America, serving agriculture, serving farmers and ranchers, the Western way of life, preserving rural heritage between these three channels, RFD-TV, The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s long as we can keep it on the air 鈥� which we will 鈥� it鈥檚 here to stay.鈥�
He credited his daughters for inspiring him throughout their lives.
The oldest Gottsch daughters, and , demurred when offered the chance to to speak from the stage, but their younger sister Rose took the opportunity to share a simple message, 鈥淕irls rule. Boys drool.鈥�
Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org or on . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .