Kayelen Helton has built a program that touches several lanes in our ever-growing industry.

The Texas cowgirl has competed in breakaway roping from the junior rodeo and college rodeo ranks through the ProRodeo level, while also becoming one of the standout female headers in the game. Now, she’s balancing a full-time career as a licensed professional counselor, a competitive roping schedule and the responsibility of owning and promoting her stud Cat Man San.

On this crossover episode of The Score, Helton joins TRJ’s Calli Montague for a conversation on what it takes to stay competitive in today’s era of the sport. Helton talks about the evolution of breakaway roping, from the days of amateur rodeos and limited opportunities to today’s setups. She also explains how her calf roping background shaped her aggressive start in the team roping, why women headers need to use their horses and how she’s learned to make her style work through injuries and shoulder surgeries.

Helton also talks about the horses that shaped her career, including Tarzan, the little bay head horse she won hundreds of thousands on and refused to sell, and Cat Man San—better known as Hopper—the rope horse stallion she now owns. She goes on to breaks down how the rope horse industry is changing and why, even with all the incentive money available, the individual horse still matters first.

About Cactus Ropes

This episode is brought to you by Cactus Ropes, trusted by the best in the world for more than 25 years. Whether you’re reaching for The Future, the C4 or a breakaway rope like the Tsunami, Cactus Ropes are built by ropers, for ropers. See the full lineup at cactusropes.com.

READ: Drew In to Win: Andrew Duncan, Kail Brunson Win #9.5 Shootout for $54K