Erin Johnson Wins Mountain States Breakaway Year-End Title, Haiden Thompson Takes Circuit Finals Average

Erin Johnson won the Mountain States Circuit breakaway year-end title and Haiden Thompson won the circuit finals average at the Mountain States Circuit Finals in Loveland, Colorado, Oct. 23-24, and both cowgirls are headed to the NFR Open in Colorado Springs next July.

Johnson, of Fowler, Colorado, came to Loveland No. 2 in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) Mountain States standings, $2,428 behind Katie Jolly. She missed her first calf, then placed in Round 2, Round 3 and the average for $3,934. That pushed her season to $18,041—$382 ahead of Jolly.

Thompson, of Yoder, Wyoming, won Round 1 with a 2.7 and was the only cowgirl to catch all three calves. Her 10.7 on three head won the average for $3,373, and her $6,745 was the most anyone won in Loveland.

Libby Winchell won Round 2 in 2.4 and finished second in the average with 4.9 on two head, which moved her from No. 5 to No. 3 in the final standings. Brooke Bruner won Round 3 with a 2.2, the fastest run of the finals.

“It wasn’t like it was strapped out there by any means, but … just having to go catch three … it just makes it fairly difficult,” Thompson said of the pen.

Karma

“When I seen what I had drawn in the first round, I rode my palomino 5-year-old, and then she worked good in the first round, so I rode her again in the second round,” Thompson said. “I just couldn’t get off after that point.”

The mare, Karma, fit the calves.

“I started on her mainly because I knew that calf was slow,” she said. “My bay gets really strong on slow calves. You can get on a runner, a fast start, and she’s great, or you can rope on her walking fresh calves. She’s easy to hit the start on. She’s so fast.”

Thompson finished No. 8 in the world this season and qualified for her first National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR). She roped just 12 Mountain States rodeos, and she knew the year-end title wasn’t within reach.

“I knew going into circuit finals that I wasn’t going to come out with a year-end. A lot of those other girls were actually fighting for the year-end,” she said. “I knew I wasn’t going to get that, so I had to win the average in order to get into Colorado Springs.”

It’s a return trip. Thompson won the 2025 Mountain States year-end title and roped at the NFR Open this July.

“It’s a fun rodeo. It’s super cool how they do it, and I’m super excited to go back,” she said.

Home for August

Johnson went to the big rodeos through Dodge City. On Aug. 1, entered at Hermiston and Caldwell, she stayed home instead.

“The sacrifices for me were too big to do it for a second year in a row,” she said. “I just made a decision to not go there, not go up there, to stay closer to home. Stay home for the kids.”

Johnson snuck into Mandan near the bottom of the field, then added Abilene and Amarillo with one goal in mind.

“I was gonna attempt to keep myself in Houston,” she said.

She finished No. 28 in the world accomplishing just that.

“When I missed the first one, I kind of just threw my hands in the air and I’m like, the heck with it, and I got on my younger horse, and it worked out,” said Johnson.

The younger horse is a bay she calls Ruthless. Johnson was 3.5 to place fourth in Round 2, then 2.3 to place second in Round 3. Her 5.8 on two head was third in the average.

“He makes it easy,” she said. “He’s easier than Chico. Chico’s old and he wants to tell me when to throw. When the scores are really short and things have to be really fast, he dang sure makes things happen faster than anything else I have, but he’s dang sure not as easy.”

Her daughters were in Loveland for the title.

“They’re always happy, proud of me no matter what. If it doesn’t go good, they’re like, ‘It’s all right, mommy, it’s no big deal,’” Johnson said. “And then if it goes good, they’re just so excited.”

Full Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Average

Final Mountain States Circuit Standings (season plus circuit finals, unofficial)