The Columbia River Circuit Finals in Redmond, Oregon, looked a lot like a family reunion for one star-studded family in 2022, and relatives reigned supreme in the breakaway roping.

Annie Minor fought for the CRCF aggregate win ahead of her older sister, reigning CRC Champion, Bailey Patterson, while her cousin, Jordan, took home the year-end title October 20-22.

Staying Hooked

At just 21, Annie has already been to multiple CRCF, but she has never taken a title back home to Ellensburg, Washington. Annie worked with each calf she drew in the first two rounds and backed in the box quietly confident before the final round.

“I reached on my second one a good bit,” Annie said. “When it came to the third round, things fell apart and I just needed to catch. That calf really ran.”

Annie didn’t just have a quick calf—she had the calf that had all the other breakaway ropers craning to watch. Annie waited until she had her first availble shot, which happened to be at 5.3 seconds and was enough to lock in her aggregate win.

Annie was aboard DSR Sweet Smokin Cat, an 8-year-old mare she calls “Katniss.”

“She sometimes anticipates my throw a little bit, but she’s got a lot of run,” Annie said. “On the last calf, I leaned too much and she got short, but I had to ride through it and catch in that round.”

Annie was a decorated all-around competitor in high school, moved on to qualify for the CNFR and recently moved back to Ellensburg, Washington, to attend school closer to home. She swapped horses with her older sister, CRCF Reserve Champ Bailey Patterson, partway through the summer of 2022, but plans on sticking aboard Katniss as she heads into the 2023 season.

Annie’s mom, Kelly, and dad, Troy, are both previous CRCF qualifiers and were in the stands cheering, but Annie and Bailey weren’t the only athletes they came to watch.

In the final round, cousin Jason was in the box with Annie, and her brother, Jake, was pushing her calf. Both were also competing in the CRCF heeling. Cousins Riley and Brady Minor earned their NFR Open qualifications in the team roping the same weekend, and Riley’s wife, Jordan managed to snag the year-end breakaway championship.

Jordan’s Time to Shine

Jordan Minor is not only a full-time supporter of her husband’s decorated ProRodeo career—she manages to find time around raising two kiddos, aged 5 and 2, to win her own titles in the breakaway roping and barrel racing, as well.

The year-end race was fought until the bitter end. Due to clerical confusion, even Jordan didn’t know she was the circuit champion until the Monday after returning home from Redmond. When the pencils were finally down, Jordan came out in the No. 1 position with $12,736.57 earned, less than $200 ahead of the No. 2 challenger, Oregon’s Kimberly Williams.

The Columbia River Circuit was the first to allow breakaway ropers a chance to rope at the circuit finals during a slack with the steer ropers in 2016, and Jordan captured the championship during that historic year. She also earned the first Women’s All-Around Championship, thanks to her barrel racing efforts that year. Since then, Jordan has made it a goal to be in attendance each year to the circuit finals, and she was elated at the opportunity to be fully included in the performances in Redmond for the first time as a breakaway roper. Partway through the summer, Minor wasn’t even sure if CRCF would be in her future.

“Pendleton turned things around for me,” Jordan said. “The breakaway was incredibly tight, but I locked it in with my earnings there.”

Find Pendleton results here.

Beneath Jordan was her standout mare, “Mojo.” Read about Mojo, the injury that nearly ended her career at a young age and her family ties to the 2022 CRCF here.

Columbia River Circuit Finals Breakaway Roping Results

Redmond, Oregon, October 20-22

First round: 1. Josie Goodrich, 2.2 seconds, $1,252; 2. Jordan Minor, 2.4, $939; 3. Josie Reno, 3.1, $626; 4. Samantha Kerns, 3.4, $313

Second round: 1. Britni Carlson, 2.1 seconds, $1,252; 2. Shayla Currin, 2.8, $939; 3. Annie Minor, 3.0, $626; 4. Bailey Patterson, 3.4, $313

Third round: 1. Samantha Kerns, 2.6 seconds, $1,252; 2. Britni Carlson, 3.2, $939; 3. Annie Minor, 5.3, $626; 4. Bailey Patterson, 12.1, $313

Average: 1. Annie Minor, 11.8 seconds on three head, $1,878; 2. Bailey Patterson, 28.0, $1,409; 3. Britni Carlson, 5.3 on two head, $939; 4. Samantha Kerns, 6.0, $470