Born in 1940, Scooter (Hayworth) Pasha grew up twenty-two miles northeast of Geraldine on a small farm. Tragically, when she was only 10 years old, her mother passed away. Without hesitation, Scooter made the decision to care for her four younger brothers.
Scooter did the best she could to cook with limited food and no electricity, haul water, do laundry, clean house, learn to sew, and help her brothers with their schoolwork, in addition to ranch chores. She started high school when she was 15, but quit after one year, to ensure her siblings were cared for and able to complete their own educations.
Scooter was a natural at handling and training horses. In 1958, she was the North Central Montana Rodeo Association barrel racing champion, and she won many statewide barrel races. At this same time, she was in demand to ride and train horses for
the neighbors. She mentored several local girls, teaching them to improve their riding skills and competitively show their horses.
In 1963, a family friend told Scooter quite matter-of- factly that it was time for her to finish her education. She was 23, and had to get board approval to re-enroll at Geraldine High School. Even though she was considerably older than her classmates and almost as old as some of her teachers, Scooter stuck with it, graduated from high school in 1965 and went on to enroll at Montana State University. She became involved in the MSU Rodeo Club by serving as the women’s event director and club secretary even though she didn’t have the resources to compete with the rodeo team. She graduated from MSU with a degree in elementary education in 1969 and dedicated thirty-two years to teaching kindergarten.
In 1968, Scooter married Delbert Pasha, and they had two children.
During this busy time of her life, Scooter found time to compete in barrel racing jackpots, open rodeos, PRCA, and Senior Pro Rodeos while raising her family. She was the WPRA Barrel Racing Director for the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit 1984- 1985, and from 1993-2000, she was honored to serve as State Secretary for the Montana High School Rodeo Association. At age 84, Scooter has touched innumerable lives, all while promoting and modeling the Western way of life she loves. She is a Montana cowgirl through and through.