With less than one week to go in the WPRA regular 2023 ProRodeo season, the final spot on the NFBR roster is likely down to Erin Johnson or Samantha Fulton.
While other ropers outside the Top 15 may seem to be in contention, logistically, only Johnson or Fulton have the schedule to make it happen. Just $2,175 separates the two of them and, since neither of them are attending the rich Governor’s Cup Rodeo in Sioux Falls, they’re going to duke it out the traditional way at smaller ProRodeos on the last weekend of the regular season.
Did you know one year ago, Josie Conner entered the 2022 NFBR in the No. 15 position with $48,138. If the WPRA regular season closed Sept. 25, 2023, the No. 15 cutoff will have jumped a staggering 37% from $48,138 to $66,029.
Erin Johnson’s defending her ticket to the NFBR
Three-time World Champion Erin Johnson kept her forward momentum on the second-to-last-weekend of the year, winning the Poway Rodeo in California and earning $2,248. She picked up a $288 check at the City of Champions Professional Rodeo in Artesia, New Mexico, too.
Johnson, a three-time NFBR qualifier, is not one of the 12 ladies roping in Sioux Falls, but she is entered up at one-header rodeos including the American Hat Pro Rodeo in Bowie, Texas, the Southern NM State Fair & Rodeo in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the Comal County Fair & Rodeo in New Braunfels, Texas this coming weekend. In 2022, Las Cruces paid $1,254 to the champion, Bowie paid $1,418, and although this is New Braunfels’ first year to include breakaway, it’s projected to pay $800 to the champion.
Samantha Fulton could make the Top 15
Samantha Fulton—a 2022 NBR qualifier and Badlands Circuit Champion—caught one check this past weekend and made it count at the Wing & Barrel Western Days in Sonoma, California, winning the rodeo in 2.3 seconds and earning $1,717. Fulton is entered in the same three rodeos as Johnson, meaning their earning potential is equal.
Only $2,175 separates the two of them, so the determining factor for the No. 15 spot will be their performances on the last weekend of the year.
What about Madison Outhier and Jordi Edens?
Madison Outhier tied for the win at the Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo Sept. 23, with a 2.0-second run, winning $3,409. She’s entered up at the Southern NM State Fair & Rodeo in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the Comal County Fair & Rodeo in New Braunfels, Texas.
To catch Johnson, Outhier would have to earn $6,412. Her earning potential between Las Cruces and New Braunfels is approximately $2,054, which is not enough to catch Johnson, even if Johnson doesn’t win a dime this coming weekend.
Jordi Edens is in a similar boat, having only entered New Braunfels.
Editors note: All entries are subject to change. Some rodeos recognize a “walk-up replacement rule” meaning, if there’s a scratch in a performance at the rodeo, a breakaway roper can walk up and replace the drawn out competitor.
The Breakaway Roping Journal will continue to watch and update the Top 15 bubble race thanks to Top Hand Ropes.
