Louisiana’s Josie Conner won the first-ever Clay Logan Open to the World Breakaway Roping at the Circle T Arena in Hamilton, Texas, on Feb. 5, 2021, which was held in place of the Wildfire Roping.
Conner, 17, won the roping from sixth callback. She fired her rope to make a 2.4-second run in the short round, which was quick enough to move her into first in the average with a total time of 7.09 seconds on three head, worth $4,000.
Josie Conner was crowned the inaugural Clay Logan Open to the World Breakaway Roping Champion at the third annual Clay Logan Open to the World Roping.
Courtesy Clay Logan
“It was an honor to win that roping,” Conner said. “I was super excited about it just because it was two and a short adding $5,000. It was a really tough roping.”
The roping’s format allowed ropers to enter twice. Conner came back to the short round with her second run at 11th callback with a time of 5.3 seconds on two head and got the barrier, making her too long to place again in the average.
“In the short round on my good run, I had a bigger calf—one of the slow ones,” Conner said. “I kind of had to go at it. I broke the barrier right there.”
Riding Tonka, the sorrel gelding she’s had for two years, Conner added another $615 to her weekend earnings after placing eighth in the first round with a 2.14-second run.
“A breakaway horse is huge in the breakaway roping,” Conner said. “He is so awesome for me. His biggest thing is that he lets me score. He lets me throttle across the line and he gives me all he’s got. He runs low and rates the calf for me. He tries his heart out. He’s definitely the reason why I was successful.”
Conner, like most breakaway ropers, is thankful to Clay Logan and his crew for supporting the competitors and putting on a prestigious event that women can come to and make it worth their while.
“I want to give a shoutout to them for how good of a roping that was and how good they paid that roping out,” Conner said. “The rounds paid great. The average paid great. They put money in the short round. I couldn’t thank them enough for that. We’re going to keep entering and keep going as they keep having them.”
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1. Josie Conner, 7.09 seconds on three head, worth $4,000
2. Mikayla McCoy, 7.13 seconds on three head, worth $2,930
3. Avery Landry, 7.19 seconds on three head, worth $2,440
4. Kelsie Chace, 7.32 seconds on three head, worth $1,950
5. Madison Outhier, 7.45 seconds on three head, worth $1,620
6. Tamara Lujan, 7.58 seconds on three head, $1,300
7. TiAda Gray, 7.62 seconds on three head, worth $1,136
8. Caxton Martin, 7.74 seconds on three head, worth $960
First Round:
1. KC Gail Churchill, 1.85-second run, worth $2,450
2. Kadi Fretwell, 1.88-second run, worth $1,840
3. Shelby Osceola, 1.89-second run, worth $1,530
4. JJ Hampton, 2.02-second run, worth $1,220
5. Paige Abernathy, 2.03-second run, worth $1,020
6. Shelby Sharber, 2.04-second run, worth $815
7. Mikayla McCoy, 2.07-second run, worth $715
8. Josie Conner, 2.14-second run, worth $615
Second Round:
1. Aspen Miller, 1.72-second run, worth $2,450
2. Martha Angelone, 1.90-second run, worth $1,840
3. Shelby Boisjoli, 1.97-second run, worth $1,530
4. Abby Medlin, 1.99-second run, worth $1,225
5/6. Bailey Gubert, 2.02-second run, worth $947.50
5/6. TiAda Gray, 2.02-second run, worth $947.50
7/8. Bradi Good, 2.06-second run, worth $665
7/8. JJ Hampton, 2.06-second run, worth $665
Short Go Fast Time:
1. Madison Outhier, 1.87-second run, worth $1,635
2. TiAda Gray, 2.12-second run, worth $1,225
3. Tamara Lujan, 2.21-second run, worth $815
4. Avery Landry, 2.29-second run, worth $409
American Qualifiers:
1. Kadi Fretwell, 4.49 seconds on three head
2. Mikayla McCoy, 4.61 seconds on three head
3. Jade Kenny, 5.05 seconds on three head
4. Shelby Osceola, 5.17 seconds on three head
5. TiAda Gray, 5.50 seconds on three head
