Breakaway roping is a rodeo event that has grasped a lot of attention from women within the rodeo industry, so much attention that it has become the fastest growing women’s rodeo event. Due to this growth, a National event just for breakaway roping was created in 2020 and the American Rodeo added the event in 2019. With the creation of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association in 1948, the focus of breakaway roping has been professionally run for over 75 years.
History of Breakaway Roping
Well it was not always a competition, it started in the early days of ranching as cowboys and cowgirls used doing to capture and retrain the cattle in order to preform branding or treatments. As rodeos became more popular, roping was added into the events where they showed off their skills of roping and riding. Breakaway roping removed the tying down the cattle aspect and turn it into a quick catch and release.
Getting Started
Breakaway roping is a sport that is fun, engaging, useful and achievable, although you must put in the time to practice. It is not a sport that you just wake up and become good at. You are working with your horse as a team therefore you must have good horsemanship and control of your horse. You also need the proper equipment to get started, this includes a breakaway top, a proper roping saddle for your horse, a barrier string and a roping dummy. It is best to start with a stationary roping dummy so you can get the technique down and solidified before moving onto a moving target. There are many options for roping dummies, included a calf head that can be placed on a hay bale, a calf body that can be placed on the ground, a calf that you can pull behind a quad and the list goes on until you get to the real thing.
This video was created with World Champion Breakaway Roper Jackie Crawford, where she explains how to create the perfect breakaway loop.
My experience with breakaway roping
I didn’t have much experience with roping until the last two years. My boss was a former breakaway roper so I have been able to get a lot of insider information. I also have met and become friends with some people who spend their time competing in the breakaway roping events. These people have given me lots of tips and tricks as well as shown me the challenges that come along with it.