Joey Williams was the picture of consistency, winning the Cheyenne Frontier Days Breakaway Championship Sunday, July 30, 2023, with a 3.8-second run in the short round.
With her short round time matching her semifinals time (where she finished No. 2 and earned $4,612), Williams raked in a total of $19,589 at the iconic “Daddy of ‘em All.”
2023 was Williams’ third year to compete at Cheyenne Frontier Days, and her first year to make the short go.
“To win The Daddy, I don’t even know if I can put that into words,” Williams, 32, said. “Cheyenne is one of those iconic rodeos that you watch as a kid and grow up wondering if you’re ever going to get a chance to compete there. I did run barrels there around 2010, but I never thought I’d get to rope there. Getting to compete in that arena in the breakaway roping is something that we shouldn’t take for granted or ever forget. It’s a really incredible feeling.”
Williams explained Cheyenne’s unique setup—which includes a long score, hand-pulled barrier on the left and massive crowd—made things extra special.
“Everything about that rodeo is not your typical setup,” Williams said.
Find full results for the 2023 Cheyenne Frontier Days here.
Journey to the short go
Williams admitted she wasn’t satisfied with how her July had gone in rodeo, so she decided to mix things up for the Cheyenne slack on July 18, forgoing rodeo star “Baybe” for newcomer “Reba.”
“I know at Cheyenne you want a horse that’s going to run all the way up in the hole for you,” Williams said. “Not that I doubted Baybe at all, I just wanted to change things up. Reba handled everything really well and we were No. 4 in our set of 100 in the slack with a 4.4-second run. I was really proud of her—this is only her third rodeo. I took her to one circuit rodeo in Montana, then Calgary, then here. She was thrown to the wolves.”
Reba is a 7-year-old mare out of a full sister to Baybe and sired by the Williams’ stallion Smoke N Sunrise. She’d been heeled on by Williams’ husband Taylor for several years before hitting up breakaway jackpots.
“She scores really flat, and she has the speed out there,” Williams said. “I think she’s going to be a nice one.”
For her quarterfinal and semifinals runs, Williams got back on Baybe, roping in 5.5 and 3.8 seconds.
“Baybe is so fun, and so solid,” Williams said. “She sits in the corner for me and then runs up to the calf and it all in.”
Special short go
Williams had some extra cheerleaders in the stands on Sunday for the short go—Taylor and three children Landon, Carson and Shay.
“My husband and kids were there, and it kind of takes your mind off of things because you’re out there enjoying everything as a family,” Williams said. “And my sister surprised me—her husband and my three nieces and nephews came out too. It was so cool to have them there.”
“I was waving at them after my run. They were screaming and jumping up and down. It was my favorite part of the day.”
– Joey Williams
Next up for Williams is the War Bonnet Round Up in Idaho Falls, Idaho, before hitting up a run of circuit rodeos in Montana.
