If you’re brand new to breakaway roping, there are probably just two words you need to know: Jackie Crawford.
Just about two months removed from winning $100,000 at The American, the 20-time Women’s Pro Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Champion delivered a lights-out, dominating performance during the final night of Rodeo Corpus Christi to clinch the title at the World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) Triple Crown of Rodeo event.
Crawford of Stephenville, Texas roped two calves on Saturday night in 2.38 and 1.82 seconds to win $16,600 and a fancy new surfboard adorned with the famous Rodeo Corpus Christi logo, a cowboy riding a swordfish, a prize she just missed out on a year ago.
“Last year, this rodeo was my come-back goal after I had Journey in March,” Crawford said of her now one-year-old daughter. With an April nomination deadline, Crawford had to hustle to secure her qualification but got it done just in time.
“I came in here and I won second behind Madi Outhier and I remember her carrying that surfboard out and I thought, you know what, that’s something I’ve never won before. I want to win that stinkin’ surfboard.”
“I’ll probably never use it but I wanted it,” she laughed. One more goal was set and achieved for one of the winningest breakaway ropers to ever swing a rope.
On Saturday at American Bank Center, she orchestrated the win with a pair of very aggressive runs. It began in the seven-woman Showdown Round.
Young guns Jade Kenney and Bradi Good had laid out runs of 2.45 and 2.68 seconds each by the time Crawford backed her good bay horse Kevin into the box. She rode across and grabbed the neck in 2.38 seconds, the fastest run of the rodeo at that point, for the round win.
The win was critical as it gave Crawford the first pick of calves for the Triple Crown Round.
“I knew my calf really well, I had him last night and got to pick him,” she noted.
When the Triple Crown Round started later that night, Good laid down the gauntlet with a 2.14 run.
“My game plan right there . . . I thought, that 2.1, that’s the fastest run there’s been. She was one of the first girls that got her throw off the second swing, which was awesome,” Crawford said.
“I told myself, don’t back off, just give it hell. I know you can nail the barrier and throw it second swing, so just try it.”
Despite having won just about every title there is, Crawford admits to nerves when big wins are on the line.
“Here’s the deal, something I want everyone to understand is that no one is exempt from nerves,” she said. “Those nerves were getting me; I had to take some deep breaths.”
“But if you prepare and you know in your mind that you’re prepared and you’re there to win . . . the nerves are going to come and go, figure out a way to settle them and then just go for it.”
Crawford did just that, nailing the start and breaking the two-second barrier for the first time all week with her round winning 1.82.
“That was a lot of fun,” she laughed.
Crawford relied on Kevin, her eight-year-old bay which has stepped up for her a lot in the last year since her good horse T-Boy was injured.
“I need to tell the story of Kevin one day,” Crawford said with a laugh. The gelding was named after Macaulay Culkin’s character in Home Alone because he was so annoying when he was younger. “I did not plan on keeping Kevin and he has just stepped up. I never thought that he would be as big of a winner as he is. But he’s won in huge ways.”
Kevin has likely secured a forever home with Crawford. Not because he’s helped her win big titles like Rodeo Corpus Christi and the American but because of his relationship with Journey.
“He loves Journey,” she said. “You cannot even imagine how he acts with her. He puts his head on her and she can do whatever she wants with him and he just loves her.”
“He’s really growing up, maturing,” she added. “He’s actually pretty fun.”
“I’m really proud of that little horse.”
Crawford had a busy week of rodeoing and being mom. After qualifying to the Progressive Round in Corpus on Tuesday, she headed for Mineral Wells slack and the Royal Crown Futurity in Waco (where she won the first round) on Wednesday and then an even bigger engagement on Thursday.
Jackie Crawford Punches Her Ticket to Corpus Christi Showdown Round
“We got a win on Thursday,” she said. “We got to see my 17-year-old stepdaughter [Kaydence] graduate. That was fun and neat to see her accomplish that.” Crawford also has a son Creed, who is five.
LISTEN: Roping Fundamentals, Dreaming Big, and Life In The Crawford Household
With the win in Corpus, Crawford becomes eligible for the Triple Crown of Rodeo $1 million bonus offered to any competitor who can win three straight WCRA Major events.
Given her momentum and performance on Saturday, it’s not a stretch to say she could snap up her second straight win next week when the WCRA’s Women’s Rodeo World Championship hits Fort Worth, Texas.
For Crawford, it’s simply a mindset to strive for greatness without fear.
“I beat myself up more for outthinking things and roping myself out of winning something,” Crawford said. “I’d rather go down swinging and leave a statement winning.”
Showdown Round, Saturday, May 14, 2022
Jackie Crawford, 2.38 seconds
Jade Kenney, 2.45 seconds
Bradi Good, 2.68 seconds
Hali Williams, 2.74 seconds , $1,000
Josie Conner, 2.75 seconds, $1,000
MaryBeth Beam, 2.88 seconds , $1,000
Jessie Calkins Letzelter, 3.61 seconds , $1,000
*Top 3 Advance to Triple Crown Round
Triple Crown Round
Jackie Crawford, 1.82 seconds, $15,000
Bradi Good, 2.68 seconds, 2.14 seconds, $6,500
Jade Kenney, 2.45 seconds, No Time, $2,500
Champion: Jackie Crawford, $16,600
