Ann Lewis

Ann Lewis (June 4, 1958 – October 2, 1968) was an American barrel racer. In December 1968, she won the World Barrel Racing Championship posthumously, becoming the youngest barrel racing champion in the Girls Rodeo Association (now the Women's Professional Rodeo Association). Life Ann Lewis was born on June 4, 1958, in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Career Lewis was running barrels before she even started school. When she was 5, she placed in her first open. She also won her first prize money at five when she competed at Atoka, Oklahoma. She was unable to sign her name to the receipt but offered to print it. Ann had a twin sister; they were 7 when their parents got them their first barrel racing horse. When Lewis was 8, she was consistently winning ahead of more accomplished racers. She was often referred to as "Annie the Okie". In 1967, an 8-year-old, self-starter, Lewis and her partially feral bay horse Charlie Bay Dan starting winning amateur rodeos throughout the Midwest.