Kim Duncan, an electrical engineer and mom to pre-teen twin girls from Cleveland, Tennessee, jumped into the No. 5 spot in the Cinch Ladies Standings with $3,255 in earnings after she won first and second in the USTRC #7 at JX2 Production’s South Georgia Super Qualifier in Perry, Georgia, Jan. 1–3, 2021.
“That was a very sweet win because I won first and second,” Duncan confirmed. “I won first place with Braden Raburn, and that was his very first time entering a USTRC roping. And I won second place with his grandfather. They have been lifelong friends. It was really a cool day.”
Duncan and Braden took the win, a trophy saddle and $3,720 when they came tight on three head in 35.67 seconds. She followed that up by catching three head for Rick Raburn, who sealed the deal in 40.43 seconds, worth second place and a team total of $2,790, plus belt buckles. In 2020, Duncan also saw success roping with Rick’s son, Cody Raburn.
Duncan, a 4 header, started roping in 2000 when she began dating her team roper husband, but took a good break from the sport with the arrival of her girls in 2009. Now, her girls are very much the reason Duncan is back in the arena.
“My girls got big enough that they decided they wanted to ride, so I started riding again and started roping again about two years ago. And last year, when the COVID hit and everything was shut down and everybody was home, my kids decided that they wanted to learn to rope, so we’ve been in the roping pen quite a bit. It’s been fun for the whole family.”
Duncan dominated in the #7 aboard a horse her husband trained.
“My husband, he ropes really well, but he doesn’t enter a lot of ropings because he prefers to train horses. He loves to train horses. So, he actually trained the horse I was riding and, every time he gets one going pretty good, then I get it or, now, the kids are getting them. So, we all like to give him a hard time that he just trains our horses for us. He just drives us around and trains our horses.”
When Duncan isn’t fulfilling her duties as the Assistant Manager of Operations at the utility company, where she’s worked for 20 years, she’s learning to navigate having ropey kids.
“Now that they’re roping—they’ve actually both placed. We’ve taken them to a couple of small jackpots and they’ve both placed now. There is no nerves like watching your children rope. And I mean, we’re not talking about a lot of money either. Just watching your kids rope and having absolutely no control over the situation. … It’s been a fun adventure.”
2021 USTRC Cinch High Money Ladies Award
Current rules, per the USTRC: For the award in April 2021, winnings will be counted from USTRC Signature Events beginning Aug. 22, 2020 through March 31, 2021. Also included are any winnings at the US Finals in April. This will determine the winning header and heeler to be announced at the conclusion of the Finals event.
USTRC Cinch Ladies Standings —Top 10 (as of 1.25.21)
Rank/ Winnings Roper Home Town
1. $5,905 Sarah Toole Rydal, Georgia
2. $4,000 Jamie Townsend Aztec, New Mexico
3. $3,515 Cassidy Boggs Stephenville, Texas
4. $3,330 Madison Haley Canyon, Texas
5. $3,255 Kim Duncan Cleveland, Tennessee
6. $2,960 Holly Ricken Boone, Colorado
7. $2,850 Quincy Sullivan Peralta, New Mexico
8. $2,630 Maddie Johnson Montgomery, Alabama
9. $1,995 Ryleigh Parker Hayesville, North Carolina
10. $1,765 Kayla Morris Pima, Arizona
