Cadee Williams 2.0-second run and $11,167 payday at the Roughrider Cup was not only a huge vote of confidence following a “dry” summer, but it places her within the top 30 in the World Standings for 2026 ProRodeo opportunities.
“When you [make a run] that fast, there’s not a lot that goes through your head,” Williams said. “I was hoping I nailed the barrier and remember thinking, ‘He’s right there, just get him.’ Watching it back, I was surprised because I reached more than I felt like I did at the time.”
@breakawayropingjournal YEAH you did Cadee Williams 😎 Rank 2.0-second run and enough cash at the Roughrider Cup in Monday to push her well inside the top 30 for an invitation to the 2026 Building Rodeos. @resistol1927 ♬ original sound – Rap Lib
According to Williams, another driving factor in her fast hand was the chunky mud that plagued the Roughrider Cup throughout its three performances. She roped in the Sunday performance, and despite athlete’s hopes, it hadn’t dried up much from the initial downpour on Thursday and Friday.
“I have roped in mud like they had at Mandan—I’m from Montana,” Williams said. “But the mud [on Sunday] was the heaviest I’ve ever roped in. The boxes were great, but I remember thinking, ‘I want to throw fast because I don’t want to put Scandal through running through this.’ I know that sounds bad, compared to what the barrel horses had to do, but the mud was crazy heavy.”
But to clinch the win in Mandan, Williams had a lot of homework to do. A “dry spell” from the Greeley Stampede in late June to the Cache County Fair & Rodeo in Logan, Utah, in early August had her on the figurative ropes—both for making the Montana Circuit Finals and breaking into the top 30 in the World Standings for an invitation to the 2026 winter ProRodeos.
“It’s been a really rough year for me,” Williams admitted. “My horse worked phenomenal all year, I have no one to blame by myself. I just kept missing. You hear about people having those years—I’ve never gone to that many rodeos and roped that bad. I threw a loop a lot this summer where I’d rope the right side of their face. I did it for [the lead] at places like Cody and Oakley, and there were a couple of costly barriers.”
Getting her roping right
To fix her funk, Williams started watching videos from when she was satisfied with her roping, and noticed her ropes were anywhere from 12-to-15 inches longer than what she’d been using.
“I felt like I had been a little but handcuffed, and trying to shove it around the [calves’] neck instead of being more big and open with my delivery,” Williams explained. “I got my ropes stiffer, kept them warm, and cut them longer. Sometimes it’s the little fixes that help.”
Cadee Williams ropes with a Rattler 9.5 Striker
Once she made that change, she and Scandal started firing together, winning the Fall Fling on Sept. 5 in Bigfork, Montana, for $940 and snatching another $579 check at the Palouse Empire Rodeo in Colfax, Washington.
“But I really needed to win Mandan win to get back into the top 30 for Houston,” Williams said. “I had my hammer cocked for Mandan. The win gives me more confidence as we head into the winter rodeos. I’m excited to take a break this fall and then have a good winter—carry the momentum.
Cadee Williams’ “Scandal”
Registered as Dropit Likeits Hott, 2015 bar mare “Scandal” has been Williams’ No. 1 since she was 4 years old. Sired by the late cutting stallion Hottish and tracing back to Smart Little Lena and Dual Pep on the bottom side, Scandal helped Williams earn the 2022 NFBR Average Championship.
“This year I think Scandal has really matured as a competitor, and was more aggressive throughout the entire run,” Williams said. “She stopped harder and was better than ever.”
ProRodeo fans will see Williams again in the Montana Circuit Finals, slated for early 2026.
