Jordan Jo Hollabaugh won nearly $18,000 in two weeks from Idaho to Oregon and back to Idaho, using wins in Idaho to move to No. 15 in the WPRA world standings with $35,049.27 won.
The Springtown, Texas, cowgirl won the Ridgeview Pro Rodeo in Driggs, Idaho, with a 2.3-second run for $6,378, tied for second at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union, Oregon, with a 2.5 for $3,168 and tied for ninth at the Klamath River Round-Up in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with a 2.2 for $686.
Then she finished the push in Nampa, Idaho, where she won the Snake River Stampede finals with a 2.4-second run for $2,560 and won the average with a 7.7 on three head for another $5,183.
“It’s always one of my favorite rodeos,” Hollabaugh said of Nampa.
Hollabaugh, a two-time NFBR qualifier and the 2020 NFBR average champion, knew Nampa would get fast, but she did not leave her first run expecting to end the week as the champion.
“I had a first run in the slack, but my calf was a little bit stronger and I went and just made a good run,” Hollabaugh said. “Knowing how tough it usually gets at Nampa and how fast it is, I thought, ‘Well, I’ll come back to the perfs,’ but didn’t really have a whole lot of expectations on just being at the top.”
Hollabaugh said she did not draw the best on her second one and did not make the best run, but she stayed in the average.
“It wasn’t a perfect run by any means, but it was effective,” Hollabaugh said.
She left Nampa sitting 5.3 on two head, then got bumped a few times while she went rodeoing in Elko, Nevada, and Vernal, Utah. From there, they made the drive back to Nampa for the short round.
Hollabaugh drew good on the last calf, did her thing and let fate play out.
“I had a good calf and just tried to go and make my run and see where the chips laid,” Hollabaugh said. “I didn’t anticipate walking away the champion when I roped just because of the girls that were behind me, and it just worked out.”
It was a similar story a week prior in Driggs, where she made her run and left without any expectations.
“Honestly, when I left there too, I was like, ‘Well, I hope I get some money at Driggs,’” Hollabaugh said. “I didn’t think that 2.3 would win it there either. So, yeah, it’s been a journey full of surprises and good ones.”
With the help of Leonard—her A-string 12-year-old registered as Smarter Than Gage—Hollabaugh is now sitting in the top 15 heading into Cowboy Christmas.
“I rode him all winter and typically he’s been my building horse, but honestly, he stepped up and he’s just been doing his job,” Hollabaugh said. “I’ve got Cookie out here too, so she’s out here, but Leonard’s just been getting the call.”
With the July run ahead, she knows all too well there is still plenty of money left to win for anyone to get comfortable.
“Honestly, I’m just taking it rodeo by rodeo,” Hollabaugh said. “It’s just the beginning. It’s just getting started. Honestly, there’s so much money in breakaway now. I think that’s the coolest thing about it is there’s just so many opportunities.”
Those opportunities are what make a two-week run like Hollabaugh’s such a big deal in the middle of June. She remembers when a $2,500 check could change everything. Now, $10,000 weeks are absolutely a possibility.
“When we first started, we had 50 rodeos and $2,500 was a great check,” Hollabaugh said. “Now girls are having $10,000 weeks and that’s just an average week.”
With $35,049.27 won, Hollabaugh is officially back in the top 15 conversation. But for her, the plan is still simple: keep Leonard feeling good, keep entering the right rodeos and not getting ahead of herself.
“I’m just running them one at a time trying to enjoy it,” Hollabaugh said. “I feel like I’ve been at this a long time. So, I kind of know the lay of the land, know where we want to go, know kind of where we won’t go.”
For now, Hollabaugh is trucking along and loving every minute of it.
“I’m excited about the opportunities, thankful for these horses that we’ve got and just running them one at a time.”
