Josie Conner won the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup breakaway roping Sunday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a 1.9 in the finals for $34,000, one day after a broken barrier left her holding the last semifinal spot on a tiebreaker.
The $44,967 weekend moved the Iowa, Louisiana, cowgirl from No. 4 to No. 3 in BRJ’s unofficial world standings at $190,597. She’s $3,493 behind Hali Williams and $6,287 behind No. 1 Cheyanne McCartney, and the regular season ends Sept. 30. Conner finished third in the world in 2024 and again in 2025, and she was second at Sioux Falls a year ago for $24,000.
Play by Play
She came in as the No. 1 seed on Cinch Playoff Series points and the Puyallup win, but she wanted to close the gap.
“There’s just so much money on the table. The go-rounds pay 12,000, the final day pay $34,000,” Conner said. “In the position that I was in coming into Sioux Falls, I knew that I really needed to rope on the offensive, and I really needed to win a lot if I wanted to get close to Cheyanne and Hali.”
Jordan Jo Hollabaugh was first out in Round 1 with a 2.2.
“It just got faster and faster, and by the time it was my turn, I knew it was hit the barrier and try to win something,” Conner said.
She split the round at 1.7 with Jordi Edens-Mitchell for $10,967 apiece. The Gatesville, Texas, cowgirl is her traveling partner. They enter together and go to the same places at about 90% of the rodeos.
“We’ve won some cool rodeos together. We split St. Paul, and she’s won Prescott, and I won Ogden and Salinas,” Conner said. “So that was pretty cool to just finish off the year splitting the first round with her.”
Saving Grace
Round 2 went the other way.
Roping last, Conner drew the calf Hollabaugh had been 2.2 on in Round 1.
“I knew when I roped that I was already guaranteed to get back anyway, so I just thought, let’s just try to win as much real money as possible and try to get a go-round,” she said. “My calf was a little bit softer leaving the chute than I anticipated, and I actually broke the barrier too.”
She broke the barrier and missed, which left her 1.7 on one head—the same as Rylee George, who won Round 2 with a 1.7 after a Round 1 no-time. The eighth and last semifinal spot came down to the tiebreaker, and the tiebreaker was Playoff Series points.
“That’s why it’s so important to get as many points in the tour standings as possible,” Conner said. “That was my saving grace.”
Sunday’s semifinal started from scratch on one head, so ropers could draw calves they’d already run.
Conner drew her Round 2 calf back and was first out.
“I knew exactly what I needed to do because I got a run at him last night. He was one of the softer ones in the pen, so I just wanted to give him a touch more than I’d been giving everything else, and he was right there,” she said. “When I roped, I did not think I was going to get back. I was 2.3, and I thought, man, it’s a good run, but it’s probably going to win fifth.”
It held up for third behind Martha Angelone’s 2.0 and Jackie Crawford’s 2.2, and Bradi Good took the fourth spot with a 12.3 including penalties.
For the finals, Conner drew the calf Edens-Mitchell had been 1.7 on in Round 1.
“I knew he would leave sharp, and if I could get it on him fast, he would break the rope fast,” Conner said. “I just thought, man, we’ve made it this far and have had such a great season that it’d be cool to finish up right here.”
Riley Webb, her fiancé, was the roper just ahead of the breakaway. He didn’t finish his run and left the arena hurt.
“He’s usually down there when I rope, and so it was just a little chaotic for just a second,” Conner said. “But that’s when you just got to take a moment and say a prayer and say, you know, God’s got it under control. I was able to get back focused, and my dad got to come back there too.”
Webb dislocated his shoulder, and it was popped back into place. Conner said he’s comfortable and will have it looked at when they get back to Texas.
Conner roped a 1.9 on Im Countin Checques, “Checkers,” the mare she bought from Montana Brown in June. Good and Angelone were both 2.4 and split second and third for $21,500 apiece, and Crawford no-timed for fourth and $9,000.
Sioux Falls was worth $44,967 to Conner. McCartney didn’t win a check there, and Williams won $17,033.
After Puyallup, Conner told us she still had her “foot all the way on the gas,” and that if she ended up in a position to win a gold buckle, “that’ll be a very blessed thing.”
“It just all worked out,” she said Sunday. “I’m very blessed to be in this situation.”
Similar reads: Josie Conner Wins the Governor’s Cup as Bradi Good and Martha Angelone Rope Into the Top 15 · Crawford and Conner Split Puyallup: How The Money Landed For Them · The Horses At Sioux Falls
