Josie Conner was the fastest of them all at the 2025 Women’s Rodeo World Championship (WRWC) Finals at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, May 18, posting a 1.81-second run to earn $60,000 and bringing her total for the week to $69,000.
Conner, of Iowa, Louisiana, started her Women’s Finals with a 1.82-second run in Round 1. She followed that up with a 2.98-second run in Round 2 and won the Semifinals with a 2.2-second time.
She rolled into Arlington as the one to beat, but the clean-slate format meant her six peers were swinging for the fences, too.
“Cheyanne [McCartney] set the bar with a 1.82, so I knew there was no backing off,” Conner said. “I hit the barrier and I knew the throw was going to be there. That’s actually the calf I won Round 1 on at Cowtown, and we had a winning track record.”
As Conner and her horse Dutch pranced to retrieve her rope, the ropers who followed failed to beat her time, securing Conner’s $69,000 total WRWC earnings. Add that to her $100,000 win at The American in April, and Conner is having a spring every breakaway roper dreams of.
“Dutch was good, as always,” Conner said. “Besides The American [a month ago], the only places he’s been are San Angelo and Cowtown for this. He’s been feeling good, and we have a lot of confidence rolling into the summer. I head out June 7 for Woodward slack.”
A World-Class Stage
The 2025 Women’s Rodeo World Championship Finals took place during the PBR World Finals—a fact not lost on Conner.
“The Women’s Rodeo World Championship is such an extraordinary event for us, and to showcase the women like this on a stage like this—it’s awesome,” Conner said. “The PBR is one of the best brand associations in our business, so to have the PBR fan base here to watch is awesome.”
Conner’s mom, Wendi, reflected on how much the WRWC has grown.
“We started coming to the Women’s Rodeo when it first started,” Wendi said. “We loved the format and how you could nominate wherever you were at. To see it grow—it’s been amazing. All these sponsors have jumped on board to support these women and athletes.”
