Amy Ohrt rose above peers, pressure and a howling crowd inside AT&T Stadium to clinch the 2024 Women’s Rodeo World Champion with a 1.76-second run, earning $60,000.
“I don’t even think it’s hit me yet,” Ohrt said. “I really look up to Martha, so to compete against her and Jordan Jo… it was awesome.”
Bookended between slates of bull riders, the WRWC barrel racers, team ropers and breakaway ropers put on a fast-paced show that had AT&T thundering.
Roping from the last position, 18-year-old Ohrt had Martha Angelone’s time of 1.96 seconds in her sights. “Frothy” fired across the line on a sharp calf that left straight and true, allowing the college freshman to set her snare with precision.
“I really wasn’t that nervous—I was just ready to rope,” Ohrt said. “I really though I broke the barrier. When I looked back and saw [it was good], I was like ‘Score!’ This is one of my fastest runs ever.”
How Amy Ohrt got here
Ohrt put together a times of 2.89, 2.57 and 2.63 seconds in the WRWC Go-Rounds and Semifinals, advancing to the clean slate Showdown Round with an aggregate of 8.09 seconds.
Orht nominated rodeos and jackpots including UPRAs, CPRAs, Joe Beaver’s ropings and Chris Neal’s Rising Stars ropings to make it to the 2024 WRWC.
Orht then won the Showdown with her fastest time of the week; 2.05 seconds. Little did the WRWC fans know, though, that she was going to go even faster inside AT&T aboard a horse she’s known for a decade.
Frothy Wildcard
Frothy is a character, hopes to be the center of attention in any situation, and is scared of rodeo lights.
“My family has had him since he was a yearling—he’s 11 now,” Orht said. “We trained him and everything. He means everything to me and my family. He can score really easily, and do both short and long scores. If the calf is fast he can run, and if it’s slow he can rate off. He’s very adjustable.”
After their winning run, Frothy was trying to jump the spotlights sweeping across the arena floor, leading to a bumpy ride for Ohrt.
What’s next for Ohrt?
A freshman at Wharton Junior College in South Texas, Ohrt has more amateur rodeos on her calendar before the college rodeo season picks back up in September. She says when it comes to her ProRodeo card, that she’s bringing up a handful of younger horses to fill out her string, first.
The WRWC’s Partnership with PBR
First partnering in 2019, the WRWC and PBR’s symbiotic relationship has seen female rodeo athletes lifted to greater heights. The 2020 WRWC Short Go was held alongside the bull riders—but when the PBR made a move from AT&T to Dickies Arena in Fort Worth there wasn’t enough room for the chutes, alley and barrel pattern in between the bull riding setup.
A move back to AT&T Stadium in 2024 meant it was time to bring the WRWC back into the view of PBR spectators.
“Women have historically been under served in the rodeo industry, so our parent companies; the PBR and WCRA, are committed to exponential growth in female rodeo,” WRWC Comissioner Linsay Rosser-Sumpter said. “That’s our goal with WRWC; that all female athletes have a platform to compete.”
Since it’s conception, the WRWC has paid out more than $3.7 million to female rodeo athletes.
2024 WRWC Breakaway Results
- Amy Ohrt, 1.76 seconds, $60,000
- Martha Angelone, 1.96 seconds, $25,000
- Jordan Jo Hollabaugh, 2.64 seconds, $15,000
