“Everyone still remembers the Sawyer Gilbert on the paint horse that had her boots tucked in her pants, probably in a misshaped black hat that when it was 110 degrees out,” Sawyer Gilbert said. “That was me. She’s still in there, we just put a professional spin on it now.”
Sawyer Gilbert showed the world that the little cowgirl from Buffalo, South Dakota, is in fact gold-buckle quality.
Listen: Sawyer Gilbert Reacts to her World Title on The Breakdown Podcast
Gilbert, 19, showed up and made a bold statement at the 2021 National Finals of Breakaway Roping as she was crowned the World Champion Breakaway Roper and the average champion.
“It was my dream before it was even possible for breakaway ropers,” Gilbert said, “to win the average and the world title. Obviously, coming into this, I wanted to win the world for sure because it’s the coveted gold buckle, but to win the average to get me to that world title is even more special.”
Gilbert came into the NFBR sitting second in the PRCA/WPRA World Standings behind the regular season leader Shelby Boisjoli. After placing in five out of 10 rounds for $8,218.23, plus earning an additional $11,313.46 from winning the average after roping 10 head in 46.3 seconds, Gilbert shot herself to No. 1 in the world with $71,653.83. Boisjoli finished as the Reserve Champion with $69,456.61 in season earnings.
“When I got to the 10th round, I didn’t even need to win the round, I just needed to catch my 10th-round calf,” Gilbert said. “When they said ‘Average Champ’ I was like, ‘perfect’—I expected that. I still knew that it was close. Shelby and I have been back and forth all year, counting cents and pennies. To get the world title is awesome.”
Gilbert rode a blaze-faced sorrel mare she calls Hollywood, who was trained by Colorado’s Linsay Sumpter and Nebraska’s Hayley Kobza, in eight out of the 10 rounds.
“I wouldn’t trade her for the world,” Gilbert said. “She has taught me a lot. She is so tough. She fractured her splint bone in the slack run at Cheyenne. We didn’t know it until we hauled her to Salt Lake (City, Utah), and I was going to ride her there again and she probably would have worked. She is stupid tough. It’s probably a good thing because I need a stupid tough one. There is no cheat in her. She’s going to give me her best when I need it.”
The two rounds that Gilbert wasn’t riding Hollywood, she brought in her long-time partner, Roger, the Paint horse that has been with her since she broke into the breakaway roping scene.
“[Hollywood] reared out one time (in Round 3) and it was my own fault because I was amped,” Gilbert said. “I knew that Roger would be awesome, so I got on him for the last two rounds (of day 1 of the NFBR). He is the horse that made me. He is the reason why I do the things that I do. It only felt fitting to give him a chance to run two here.”
The horses that Gilbert credits for getting her to this memorable milestone have made her gold buckle dreams come true.
“I’ve already looked at the buckle and have already imagined my name etched in it. It’s a cool buckle. I’m scared to wear it. I think it’s starting to set in.”
As ProRodeo comes to an end in 2021, Gilbert is already planning on excelling in the new season.
“Next year, I’m going to approach it like the last year. I’m going to be smarter for it. I’m going to have people in my corner that are really in my corner. I’m going to do the traveling a little different. I want to go to more.”
