The 2024 ProRodeo season is off and running, and the newest batch of Resistol Rookie of the Year breakaway candidates are preparing to make their run at a once-in-a-career opportunity.
If they succeed, their names will join those of past Resistol Rookie of the Year and seasoned ProRodeo competitors Madison Outhier, Josie Conner and Braylee Shepherd.
Standings were pulled from the WPRA on Mar. 26, 2024.
No. 5 Cheree Caudle, $3,640
Livingston, Alabama’s, Cheree Caudle has thrown her hat in the ProRodeo rookie ring at 30 years old. The mother of two and UWA staff member has amateur rodeoed for years before deciding to take the next step.
For Caudle, ProRodeoing is an opportunity to visit her family in Florida, compete where her dad and grandad did, and earn a little bit more money than on the amateur circuits.
Caudle gathered up her rookie earnings at the 96th Annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo, where she tied for No. 6, earning $1,160. She also Finished No. 3 with a 2.6-second run at the Okeechobee Cowtown Rodeo in Florida for another $1,550.
No. 4 Aldyn Ashton, $3,742
Hailing from Lorida, Florida, 27-year-old Aldyn Ashton is surprised to find herself in the mix for the Resistol Rookie of the Year mix.
Ashton says she wanted to ProRodeo this year because she’s in love with breakaway, and the opportunities continue to grow for breakaway ropers.
She won her $3,742 at the Southeastern Livestock Exposition in Montgomery, Alabama, as well as the Okeechobee Cowtown Rodeo and Homestead Championship Rodeo—both in Florida.
No. 3 Nikayla Brill, $4,892
Another Southeastern representative in the Resistol Rookie race is Nikayla Brill, who’s from Summerdale, Alabama.
Brill’s winnings came from the Okeechobee Cowtown Rodeo, Indiantown Chamber PRCA Rodeo and the 85th Brighton Field Day Festival & Rodeo in Florida.
“I wanted to ProRodeo this year because my horse really matured last year and has been working great,” Brill, 22, said. “I felt like we were ready. With the added money increasing in breakaway, I presented the idea of rodeoing more to my boss and he was very supportive and encouraged me to follow my dreams. It was all just perfect timing.”
Brill works in medical device sales and plans to keep working throughout the ProRodeo season.
No. 2 KC Gail Churchill, $6,712
At 18 years old, KC Gail Churchill’s goal is simple: become a full-time breakaway roper. The Waco, Texas, cowgirl is riding 17-year-old “Reno,” registered as PeptosGotAHeart (Metallic Oak x ATI Chips Roxie Brid x Chipaholic). Churchill describes the gelding as “Not anything fancy, but a winner for me.”
Churchill’s earnings have come from the Fort Bend County Fair & Rodeo in Rosenburg, Texas, where a No. 3 finish netted her $2,493, the Guadalupe County Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Seguin, Texas, and the Rodeo Austin Breakaway Qualifier.
No. 1 Shiloh Napp, $7,839
Leading the 2024 Resistol Rookie Breakaway field is Shiloh Napp of Enterprise, Mississippi.
“I’ve been a mom for the last decade and hadn’t roped,” Napp, 33, said. “I had been recovering from emergency surgery and watching rodeos. I got the itch to get back into roping. The horse I bought, Evelyn, is perfect for me. When you have the right horse, you want to go play with the best.”
Napp currently homeschools four children and will be balancing her teaching and rodeo responsibilities.
She won the 96th Annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo with a time of 2.3 seconds, earning $4,489. She also picked up $3,351 after tying for No. 3 at the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas.
