Josie Conner’s winter rodeo season started with a bang at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, where a 1.8-second run garnered her $20,000, pushing her to No. 1 in the WPRA Breakaway World Standings.
That’s not all, either; Conner rounded up $8,017 between her bracket domination (finishing No. 1 and No. 2 in her two performances) and Semifinal 2 victory riding 2024 Horse of the Year “Dutch.”
“This is a legendary rodeo,” Conner said. “People who don’t rodeo know about the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. It’s really cool to check this one off the bucket list, and I have a lot of confidence rolling into the rest of the winter season.”
Conner drew up first in the short go, with wolves including Hope Thompson, Joey Williams and TiAda Gray waiting in the wings. According to Conner, the finals calves were fresher, and didn’t take as hard of a start.
“I hit the barrier and the throw was there, so I took it,” Conner said. “Dutch was ready to perform. He’s a lot of horse, he’s got a lot of motor. I’ve got to be perfect for our job to look good. I think we have a really good partnership and work well together as a team.”
Her FWSSR victory is in stark contrast to the start of her 2024 winter rodeo season, which saw Conner miss out on many of the money-earning opportunities at Fort Worth, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, Rodeo Houston and Rodeo Austin.
She had switched from riding youth rodeo superstar “Tonka” to Dutch in early 2024, and getting in time with one another proved difficult. The trouble didn’t last long, though, and Conner’s 2024 strength was found in the summer, where she grew from a contender to dominator.
Starting at Window Rock, Arizona, in early May, she and Dutch went on a tremendous roll, finishing as the No. 1 Cowboy Christmas earner and entering the NFBR No. 2 in the World.
“I had a really great season in 2024—the best I’ve ever had in the Pros,” Conner said. “But I lost the World Title by $3,000 and that’s hard to swallow. But, I had a lot of confidence coming into this year because I’d seen what I can do and what Dutch and I are capable of. I’ve got really big goals for 2025 and this is a great was to start it.”
Next up for Dutch and Conner will be the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, where they’ll be competing in bracket four.
