Martha Angelone, Stephenville, Texas, captured her inaugural breakaway roping world championship at the 2022 National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas.
Coming into the NFR with a $37,009 lead in the world standings, Angelone kept her grip to claim the coveted world title.
She finished atop the standings with $130,304, while Taylor Munsell, Alva, Oklahoma, was second with $90,845.
Angelone had a $33,008 advantage after the opening five rounds, Tuesday, Nov. 29, and then supplemented that with a great Wednesday, Nov. 30.
She won Round 8 with a 1.8-seconds run, the fastest run of the event, and split Round 9 with a 2.1-seconds runs. She earned $21,207 at the NFR to cap her magical season.
“My regular season was awesome,” Angelone said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I had one of the best summers I have ever had. My horse Legend made it a lot easier on me.”
Legend, 13, had colic surgery in September and wasn’t ready to compete at the NFR, so Angelone rode Jesse James.
“I’m extremely proud of Jesse,” Angelone said. “This horse had never competed in anything this big in his life. He pulled through for me. I was glad I finally did what I needed to do.
In 2020, at the inaugural NFR breakaway roping, Angelone let her world championship opportunity slip through her grasp.
Jackie Crawford won the world title with $47,185, narrowly holding off runner-up Angelone, who finished with $45,611.
“I broke the barrier in the 10th round that year, so it was nice to win this time,” Angelone said.
Sawyer Gilbert was the 2021 world champion in breakaway roping.
“We are just blessed that we get to have breakaway roping at the National Finals Rodeo,” Angelone said.
“I know we don’t have the money that all the cowboys and barrel racers do yet,” she continued. “But we are blessed that we get to go at go-rounds for $5,000 a round and $14,000 for the average. It is nice being able to work for something all year to have a finals like this.”
Cadee Williams, Weatherford, Texas, won the average with a 31.9-seconds time on 10 head. She is the first competitor in three years of the NFR breakaway roping to catch all 10 calves with no penalties.
“It is awesome,” said Williams who earned $13,866 for the average victory. “It was a lot over two days because you run back-to-back-to-back. I just kept telling myself to keep everything slowed down and it all worked out. I’m thankful.”
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