“Horse position and roper’s ability are required to be a champion in breakaway roping.”
One of the world’s very best and certainly most mature breakaway roping cowgirls is coming to the EquiFest of Kansas.
That’s the horse extravaganza at the Saline County Livestock Expo Center and Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina, March 16-19.
Actually, Carole Hollers, Sturgis, South Dakota, will conduct a breakaway roping clinic all-day Wednesday, March 15, at 8 o’clock.
She talked about her visit to Kansas last week from Arizona where she winters for more breakaway roping competitions. Hollers will be assisted in her pre-EquiFest presentation by Jessica Keeth, who grew up learning from her.
An EquiFest Breakaway Roping is Thursday evening, March 16, in Ag Hall Arena starting at 6 o’clock. Heritage Livestock, LLC, is sponsoring the competition with $2,000 added money.
Growing up in a Wisconsin horse family, Hollers competed in horseshow speed events. “Then I had an opportunity to rope in high school and it eventually became my life’s career,” she said.
Sixty-one-years-mature, Hollers has competed successfully in rodeo events throughout the country. While breakaway roping is her specialty, she’s also a horse trainer, champion barrel racer, and team roping header.
“I like it all, but it’s tough to be competitive in several events with today’s level of contestants,” Hollers admitted.
Besides that, Hollers is in demand conducting breakaway roping clinics. “Jerry Golliher is a lifelong horseman and continuous student as well as my mentor. If I’m struggling, I ask Jerry because he’s an amazing horseman,” she said. “I’m fortunate to have assisted him with most of the clinics.”
There are regularly scheduled Hollers-Golliher clinics at the Golliher Arena, Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and demonstrations nationwide like EquiFest.
Horses, practice, and competitions are ingredients for Hollers personal success. “I’ve been fortunate to have athletic horses that can take the stress of competition,” she said.
“I am proud to be riding horses that I’ve raised and trained personally. That makes winning even much more meaningful,” Hollers admitted.
Her mounts are not particularly specialized. “I want a horse with the ability to compete in several events,” she said. “A breakaway horse can be ridden in team roping and barrel racing. The horse will tell you what their specialty is.”
Practice makes perfect is a longtime rodeo philosophy that Hollers believes and follows. “I started out practicing roping buckets, then calf dummies, and still do practice a lot,” she said. “Yet, there are so many factors; the horse, calves, arena conditions, and mindset that come into making a winning run.”
While she didn’t know the number of roping competitions she’s been in during her life, it is a big bunch. “During the winter I go to three to five jackpot roping’s a week,” Hollers said. “In the summer, it’s about four a week including both jackpots and rodeos.”
Now breakaway roping is in several rodeo organizations, but Hollers said, “It was difficult getting committees to recognize breakaway as a regular event.”
A major breakthrough was the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) having breakaway at Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeos.
“I like to rope wherever I can, but pretty much stick to the PRCA Badlands Circuit,” Hollers said.
Likely uncountable her recognitions, total dollars collected, event wins, trophy buckle and saddle compilation, one competition stands out.
Hollers, 59-years-old that day, scorched the competition with a then-record 3.4-seconds run at the 2021 Cheyenne Frontier Days collecting $3,806. There were 200 breakaway ropers in the qualifying round.
Her horse, Shazaam, had been hesitant to start full speed, but that wasn’t the case for that run.
“She left hard and ran the whole way,” Hollers said. “She was just right, and that calf was really good. He started, kind of waited, and then took off when I got to him. That helped things go extremely fast.”
Hollers said, “When I broke the record, it was held by Syerra Christensen who had been a student of ours. And currently, another of our students, Peggy Garman, holds the arena record at 3.1-seconds.”
Although Hollers is no longer the record-holder, that one breakaway run will have lasting effect.
“People who were close to quitting because of their age kept going. Even people who had never roped decided to pick up a rope and give it a try,” Hollers said. “To me, it was just a breakaway run. But if even five people were inspired to pursue something, what a feat.”
While Hollers typically conducts two-and-half-days clinics, she’ll have a condensed version for her pre-EquiFest presentation.
“We’ll concentrate first on horse position, then on the roping itself, and developing consistency of both horse and roper,” she explained.
“To become a champion roper, contestants must believe in themselves,” Hollers continued. “If they’re entered, they must have felt even for minute that they had the ability to place. So go do it. Then work on improving every time out.”
Past the average age of breakaway ropers currently competing, Hollers is not concerned about her years only with getting speedier.
“One of the reasons I stay in it, and I tell my students, is that I can get better. I still think I can rope faster and that’s why I keep going,” Hollers said.
Complete details about Hollers clinic, the breakaway roping competition, and other EquiFest information can be found at www.equifestofks.com.
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