Nikayla Brill roped smart to win the 2024 Resistol Rookie Roundup on borrowed horse “Buck” she’d only ran a few practice calves on.
For her effort, Brill won a total of $3,309 that’ll go exclusively toward the Resistol Rookie of the Year standings. Currently sitting No. 4 with $4,892 in earnings, the win should land her somewhere at the top of the leaderboard with Shiloh Napp and KC-Gail Churchill.
“Winning this is a huge blessing,” Brill, 22, said. “Every girl that was here wanted to win.”
Brill’s victory came following a bumpy Saturday performance that saw many ropers throw past or top-knot the softer calves. Brill herself caught two front legs in her loop during the eight-man round, advancing to the final four based on her Round 1 time when there weren’t enough qualified times in the eight-man.
“I was super bummed and didn’t think I was going to get to come back,” Brill said. “Making it back was a total God thing. In the final four I was first out, and I’d seen a video of my calf—he was pretty soft and went off to the right—so I knew I needed to really ride over to the right and stay aggressive even though he was slow because I can [be less aggressive].”
The smokey buckskin she got the win on was 11-year-old “Buck” she borrowed from friend Jade Mitchell. Brill recounted her tough last month, saying her main mount “Fred” became sore due to a kissing spine procedure he had five months ago.
“I think we went too hard and need to back off a little bit [on Fred],” Brill said. “I got ahold of Jade and said ‘Do you have anything? It can be a practice horse, whatever.’ And she told me to go get Buck. I ran about four calves on him and then rode my colt to stay practiced up until [this event].”
“I feel like I do well when I get on a horse I don’t know because I don’t have any pressure and I’m not expecting anything. I knew Buck was super solid and I could trust him in this setup. I could just worry about roping.” – Nikayla Brill
Brill praised Buck’s “simple” method of working, joking that he scored for her in the Final Four. Mitchell was waiting for Brill and Buck at the back alley of the Cowtown Coliseum, where he got lots of pats and photos.
Background on Brill
Brill, who’s from Summerdale, Alabama, grew up junior rodeoing and being forced to compete in every event by her mom.
“Breakaway was actually not my favorite event; my mom just made me do it because she was not going to drive me to rodeos for just barrels,” Brill recalled. “I learned how to rope and didn’t take it seriously till about seventh grade when I realized that if I caught, I could win money.”
Brill continued to compete in all events throughout high school before transitioning over to breakaway at East Mississippi Community College. She carried on her career in amateur associations PCA and IPRA, training horses and eventually moving into medical sales.
“This year I thought, ‘I’m ready to rodeo,’” Brill said. “The ProRodeos are getting bigger and adding more money.’ And I talked to my boss about it, and he was super supportive. He told me to follow my dreams, and I’ve still been able to work while on the road.”
Brill plans to bring Fred back when he’s comfortable and build a string of breakaway horses that means he won’t have too much strain put on him. She recently purchased a 5-year-old that shows promise—and she just took to its first jackpot.
