About Carol Covey
“Over the years I’ve discovered that there’s more to being a cowgirl than punching cows‚ or winning rodeo trophies‚ or galloping off into a movie sunset with Roy. Cowgirl is an attitude‚ really. A pioneer spirit‚ a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head on‚ lives by her own lights‚ and makes no excuses. Cowgirls take stands. They speak up. They defend the things they hold dear. A cowgirl might be a rancher or a barrel racer‚ or a bull rider‚ or an actress. But she’s just as likely to be a checker at the local Winn-Dixie‚ a full time mother‚ a banker‚ an attorney‚ or an astronaut.”
-Dale Evans Rogers
Although Carol Covey knows what it’s like to win rodeo trophies‚ she also knows just what the “Queen of the West”meant by these words. Cowgirls find a way to put one boot in front of another‚ no matter what life throws at them. And they do it in such a way that their living is the proof of hope.
Carol was born in San Antonio‚ Texas. She found her passion at her grandfather’s ranch in Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country after one of her cousins put her on the back of a horse. She learned to barrel race. She loved the freedom that riding gave her and the accomplishment that the barrel racing provided.
Soon after she graduated from high school‚ she got a job and married Jimmy‚ her high school sweetheart. A few years later‚ she had her daughter‚ Shanna‚ and the year after had her son‚ Curt. Her life as a wife and mother was lying in front of her‚ cozy and comfortable.
The year after Curt was born‚ however‚ tragedy struck. Jimmy was killed in a car wreck. Carol had to move forward for her children’s sake. Financial circumstances allowed her to stay at home until the kids were in high school. She went to work part-time at the same company she worked for when she graduated and has been with them ever since.
Carol’s children have always been the focus of her life. “I knew however they turned out‚ I was responsible‚”she says. But she also knew that she had to have something of her own‚ especially after the loss of her husband. She turned to riding as a way to deal with her grief.
Carol rekindled that love of riding from her childhood and found that it gave her a level of self-confidence she would not have found elsewhere. She met a good friend from West Texas who helped her raise her riding level from amateur to professional. She started riding professionally in 1986 and joined the Women’s Professional Barrel Racing Association‚ the premier organization for females in rodeo. Although her focus was on developing her skill‚ not getting recognition‚ by 1988‚ she had become a force to be reckoned with‚ winning money at the most prestigious professional rodeos…San Antonio‚ Houston‚ Denver and others as well as highly competitive barrel racing events in Texas and Oklahoma.
Her grandfather’s ranch may have triggered her rodeo career‚ but it also precipitated her love of nature and a belief that we do a tremendous amount of damage to ourselves and our environment when we go against it. Carol has developed a deep interest in non-traditional health care and is on a mission to educate people about the things they do that compromise their health. Her wellness business – providing nutritional supplements‚ environmentally friendly household cleaners‚ and comforting‚ non-irritating bath and body products – is an outgrowth of that mission.
Carol also believes that wellness includes being able to live a balanced life with time and resources for the truly important parts of life – being there for family and friends‚ and providing enough support for the non-traditional health care projects that she knows can make a difference in people’s lives. Ask her about the people she has met who have experienced life-altering improvements by using her products or by making small changes in their diet or lifestyle.
Carol says‚ “We all have energy that we put out. I try to make it positive energy every time.” She continues to face life head on‚ making no excuses‚ and living by and standing up for her own beliefs. By definition‚ Carol is a true cowgirl.