Dear Roper,
We’re working on this issue in September, as we watch the last weeks of the ProRodeo season play out in dramatic fashion—hence our wild cover of Clay Smith roping in a walking cast as he photo-finishes into the top 15.
Freak Accident in Prescott Sidelines Clay Smith’s Summer Run
September was also our newly dubbed Women In Rodeo Month—an entire month that we spent telling stories of the women who’ve shaped the sport and who’ve broken glass ceilings in the Western industry.
Inaugural Women In Rodeo Month Presented by Durango Set for September 2022
In that research, I came across some remarkable numbers of women who’ve won BIG money at the Ariat World Series of Team Ropings over the last 16 years, as well as women who’ve hit the jackpot at the USTRC events in the last 30 years.
There’s truly something to be said—and applauded—for what these legacy team roping groups and their handicapping system have done for the ladies of the sport. The roper-friendly setups that allow women to put their exceptional horsemanship on full display on an equal playing field have been responsible for bringing an untold number of women into the sport. These ladies have taken a chance to spin steers for their husbands or rope with their kids or just do it for themselves or with their friends. Opportunities like the USTRC Cinch Ladies race and the massive payouts at the qualifiers, the Heartlands, the Signature Series and the Finales have empowered more women to swing a rope than perhaps anything else that’s ever happened in roping of any kind.
In case you missed September’s online story, Jayme Marcrum is the winningest female in the history of the World Series of Team Roping, having accumulated over $346,000 in the last 16 years. On the USTRC side, Annette Stahl has won more than $196,000 since the organization started in 1990.
Those numbers are incredible, and there are plenty of others who’ve won hundreds of thousands, too.
Looking forward to seeing you all in a month in Las Vegas, in yet another one of the richest ropings in history for men and women alike at the South Point.
Chelsea
