Amanda Terrell made history at the 2025 Ponoka Stampede in Alberta, Canada, becoming the first-ever breakaway roping champion at the prestigious outdoor rodeo, winning $11,814.
Terrell, a Colorado native and recent graduate assistant coach for the Texas Tech Rodeo Team, captured the title with a consistent four-run performance that netted her $11,814 and a memory she won’t soon forget.
“This was just a dream come true,” Terrell said. “Ponoka has always been one of those major rodeos you hope to run at one day—and to win the very first breakaway title there? It’s surreal.”
Ponoka’s setup is unlike most rodeos. Rather than starting from a dead stop in the box, competitors chase calves down a long “lane” in a rolling start that tests a roper’s timing and feel for the barrier.
Terrell and her standout black gelding “Midget” handled the unique challenge with poise, delivering times of 4.2 and 2.4 seconds in the first two rounds, a 4.1 in the finals, and a lightning-fast 3.1-second run in the four-woman showdown to clinch the win.
“My little black horse really shines in setups like this,” Terrell said. “We got to make a practice run at a jackpot they hosted a few weeks prior, which helped a ton. It was still a feel deal [on timing the barrier] when the lights came on, but I trusted him, and he gave me everything.”
The crowd’s energy only added to the magic of the moment.
“I’ve never won a major rodeo before,” Terrell admitted. “As I was walking back to the trailer, Canadian fans were hooting and hollering, waving their hats, and even asking to take photos. I thought maybe they’d be bummed an American won it, but they were nothing but welcoming.”
Terrell’s rodeo season started late due to her graduate studies, which limited her travel until summer. After finishing her year coaching at Texas Tech, she headed north to rodeo in Canada with traveling partner Jenna Dallyn, making the most of her limited entries.
“I wasn’t even in the Top 30 at the start of Cowboy Christmas,” Terrell said. “But I knew it was a chance to chip away and see what could happen. God has opened so many doors and given me peace about where I’m at this season.”
Terrell’s partnership with Midget has been a journey in itself. The quirky gelding came to her through a trade involving her old goat-tying horse.
“He’s my best friend,” Terrell said. “He’s got quirks—can’t tie, hates fly masks, throws a fit when I put boots on him—but he’s made so many big things happen for me. I owe him the world.”
Now with Ponoka in her win column and momentum on her side, Terrell will shift her focus back to U.S. rodeos, targeting key stops like Cheyenne, Salinas, and Spanish Fork while working toward a potential NFBR qualification.
