C onstance D ou g l as Re e ves

Constance (Connie) Douglas was born on September 26, 1907 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Her parents were William Douglas and Ada ( Wallace) Douglas. William Douglas was a state distric t judge. Constance was an only child.

Connie had a love of horses from an early age. At age 5, she was given a horse from her maternal grandfather, Alfred Wallace, who had grown up on a ranch near M arathon, Texas. Connie praised him as the reason for her connec tion to horses. During her youth, she became an experienced rider in both Western and English saddle.

Connie’s family moved to San Antonio when she was 16. Af ter high school, she graduated women admitted to The Universit y of Texas Law School. The Depression prevented her opened in 1932, Connie began teaching physical education. other high schools in San Antonio did not pep squad k nown as the Lassos. The Lassos were founded by Connie and she designed the distinc tive western style uniform. Roping tricks would be a distinguishing feature of the Lassos. Connie would enlist the help of Johnny Regan, a trick rope ar tist from England, to teach the Lassos roping sk ills. I n 1940, Jack Long, trick roper three decades instruc ting many Lassos on rope sk ills and techniques. At that time, the group per formed at various state and local conventions as well as athletic events. Connie would remain the sponsor of the Lassos for 12 years until 1944. she earned ex tra income with her expeinstruc tions and showed horses at local horse shows. Connie gained quite a reputation for her experience and sk ill in horsemanship.

Af ter moving back to San Antonio, Connie taught English at M ain Avenue H igh S chool. The Cit y of San Antonio was in the process of building a new high school.

I n 1935 Connie was asked to join Camp Waldemar in the Texas H ill Countr y.

Waldemar is an all- girls summer camp where Connie taught young girls to ride horses. She continued to teach the girls at the camp for more than 60 years.

Connie met Jack Reeves at the camp and the t wo were married in 1942. Jack was a cowboy and former rodeo par ticipant. They were married for 43 years. During their time together, they managed over 10,000 acres of ranch land owned by Lyndon Baines Johnson. Jack passed away in 1985. They never had children. Connie chronicled their life together in the 1995 book , “I M arried A Cowboy.” thought she would sur vive her injuries. Sadly, t welve days later, she passed away of cardiac arrest.

Connie continued to work at Camp Waldemar in the equestrian center. I n 1994, she had an injur y af ter her horse threw her and she landed bones, a broken wrist, par tially collapsed lung and several hornet stings. Since she was employed by Waldemar at the time, the camp submitted a claim to Texas Worker Compensation I nsurance. They were cer tain the camp had made a mistake by listing her bir th year of 1901. At 92, she was the oldest person ever to make a claim with that agenc y.

Throughout her life Connie received many awards including induc tion to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1997.

Ask any Lasso alumnae and they would commend Connie for her vision of the Lassos and the rich histor y and tradition that has lasted over 80 years.