Taylor Munsell garnered one of the largest wins of her ProRodeo career in Houston, where a time of 2.7 seconds in the four-man Shootout Round sealed her $65,000 payday—a $15,000 increase from past years.
“Realizing I’d won was a lot to take in,” Munsell, 28, said. “That’s the biggest amount of money I’ve won in one run. Now, I’m leading the World, and I plan to stay there.”
Munsell did it riding Hotrod Song, a 13-year-old gelding that’s carried her through multiple summer runs of ProRodeo and saved her from a spill at the 2023 NFBR.
“I’ve been riding Colonel for a long time but haven’t gotten this kind of win on him yet,” Munsell said. “It’s been coming for a long time and I was glad to get it done there.”
The road to the RodeoHouston win
Munsell roped in the first of five Super Series, finishing No. 2 behind Shayla Hall with $4,250 earned. Then it was a waiting game of nearly two weeks to run another calf in the Semifinals. She skated through the semi’s with a 3.3-second run, tying with eventual Reserve Champion Bradi Good.
On Short Go Sunday, Munsell was figuring it was all gravy. And with a 3.9-second run, she advanced to the four-man Shootout as second out.
“They pay you all the way through this rodeo, so even if you don’t [win it], it’s worth it,” Munsell said. “In the four-man, as soon as I saw Bradi do that 2.8 I knew exactly what my game plan was. I was going to run at the barrier and make the best run I could.”
Munsell “hit the barrier pretty good,” and heard 2024 RodeoHouston Champion Jackie Crawford yelling that she’d gotten out. With her Rattler Viper in hand, she snagged her Charolais calf.
“When I saw my time, I thought I’d done what I could, my horse was great, and I was happy with however it played out after that,” Munsell explained.
Joey Williams broke the barrier with a 2.4-second run, and Beau Peterson had a no-time in the Shootout, securing Munsell’s $65,000 payday.
Taylor Munsell’s 2025 RodeoHouston resume:
- Super Series 1, Round 1: 6.1 seconds, $750
- Super Series 1, Round 2: 2.6 seconds, $3,000
- Super Series 1, Round 3: 12.9 seconds, $500
- Semifinals: 3.3 seconds, $875
- Short Go: 3.9 seconds
- Shootout: 2.7 seconds, $65,000
Taylor Munsell’s RodeoHouston preparation
Although Munsell can throw her rope at the barrier line, she says she favors the longer scores where she can use her horsepower, like RodeoHouston. She said she was seeing the ear of the calf by the end of the gate before she started rolling, and the beef calves made speedy moves compared to dairy cross calves they’ve had in years past.
“I had myself and my horse a lot more prepared to go to Houston this year—ready to rope one stepping right, left, running off,” Munsell explained. “For Colonel, it was not a lot of practice runs and no stopping, because we know he can do that. Just making sure he stayed moving through my throw.”
In addition to keeping Colonel freed up, Munsell pen roped on a “dirty” steer they had at home, which honed her accuracy on wandering calves.
A full breakaway roping series with Taylor Munsell and Kelsie Domer is coming to Roping.com.
“We have a couple of Holsteins that I’d run, make sure my horse is scoring and let him gain on ’em, and then rate back off of them, making sure he stayed hooked and let me get ’em caught and not taking my throw away,” Munsell explained.
Houston is a tough setup because, according to Munsell, when the scores and runs are longer, there’s more time for things to go wrong. As ropers gain quickly on the calves, they can become evasive in the big, open arena of NRG Stadium. Pair that with differing speeds on the horse and calf and “it really shows who’s having a good day and who’s not.”
Following her RodeoHouston win, Munsell drove home to Alva, Oklahoma, arriving at 4 a.m. Only a few hours later she was back in the practice pen, getting ready for the Oil Can Classic, BFI All Girls Team Roping, BFI Breakaway and Roping Futurities of America in Waco all taking place in the next week.
Unofficial Breakaway World Standings
Pulled from WPRA 3/24/25
| Place | Athlete | Money |
| 1. | Taylor Munsell | $88,650 |
| 2. | Joey Williams | $50,484 |
| 3. | Josie Conner | $38,228 |
| 4. | Aspen Miller | $37,705 |
| 5. | Bradi Good | $37,625 |
| 6. | Beau Peterson | $35,615 |
| 7. | Kinlie Brennise | $33,455 |
| 8. | Maddy Deerman | $30,979 |
| 9. | TiAda Gray | $27,610 |
| 10. | Shelby Meged | $23,319 |
