Shelby Boisjoli moved into No. 1 in the World with a clutch victory at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with a time of 2.1 seconds to earn $25,000 on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023.
Boisjoli navigated through two sharky go rounds and the eight-man short go with a combination of luck and talent. She broke out in each of her go rounds, roping in 12.0 and 12.6 seconds. But when her peers had trouble catching two head, she advanced to the Saturday night performance.
Saturday night she posted a 2.8-second run, taking a businesswoman’s approach and taking an extra swing. She draped the loop on her calf and mare “Onna” stayed free enough that Boisjoli was able to follow through. In the final four, Boisjoli was second out, roping in 2.1 seconds and securing the grand prize.
With her $25,000 payday, Boisjoli has *unofficially* earned $164,548, a new breakaway season earnings record.
Full Governor’s Cup Sioux Falls Breakaway Results Saturday Sept. 30, 2023
| Rank | Athlete | 8-Man time | 4-Man time | Money |
| 1 | Shelby Boisjoli | 2.8 | 2.1 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Bradi Good | 3.4 | 2.3 | $19,000 |
| 3 | Martha Angelone | 2.5 | 2.4 | $12,000 |
| 4 | Kendal Pierson | 2.7 | no time | $6,000 |
| 5 | Taylor Munsell | no time | $2,555 | |
| 6 | Kelsie Domer | no time | $2,555 | |
| 7 | Joey Williams | no time | $2,555 | |
| 8 | Maddy Deerman | no time | $2,555 |
The Governor’s Cup Sioux Falls Breakaway Short Round Qualifiers
Versatile roper Joey Williams crushed a 1.7-second run to win Round 2 at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, pocketing $10,000 and punching her ticket to the eight-woman short round on Saturday, Sept. 30, which will then be whittled to a final four.
Each roper is guaranteed a payday for advancing to Saturday’s performance, with the top prize coming in at $25,000. Find the full payout here.
Taylor Munsell, 4.8 seconds on two
Kelsie Domer, 4.9 seconds on two
Bradi Good, 24.3 seconds on two
Shelby Boisjoli, 24.6 seconds on two
Joey Williams, 1.7 seconds on one
Maddy Deerman, 1.8 seconds on one
Martha Angelone, 2.1 seconds on one
Kendal Pierson, 2.2 seconds on one
Sioux Falls Breakaway Round 2 Friday Sept. 29, 2023
The calves in Round 2 appeared consistent with Round 1 behavior, with the exception of Shelby Boisjoli’s taking off to the left. The barrier continued to trip the ladies up, though, with two broken barriers and other trying to float it, getting behind and ultimately missing their shots.
1. Joey Williams, 1.7 seconds, $10,000
Gunslinger Williams needed a fast time to pair with her no time in Round 1 for a chance to advance, and she did just that on “Baybe,” throwing as she came across the barrier.
2. Maddy Deerman, 1.8 seconds, $7,500
Deerman was in a similar boat as Williams, having caught illegally on Thursday. The New Mexico cowgirl threw a ton of rope on gelding “Whopper” to stop the clock in 1.8 seconds.
3. Kelsie Domer, 2.0 seconds, $5,000
Following her Round 1 win, Domer needed another clean time to guarantee her advancement to the eight-woman round. She and “Little Man” were right on the barrier to catch in a neat 2-flat.
4. Kendal Pierson, 2.2 seconds, $2,500
Canadian Pierson slung it on for her first clean run of Sioux Falls. She missed pulling her slack but it didn’t seem to matter and she advanced to the eight-woman round in the last hole thanks to a 2.2-second time.
5. Taylor Munsell, 2.8 seconds
Munsell made a businesswoman’s run on night two, staying off the barrier and taking an extra swing to rope in 2.8 seconds. Munsell is leading the pack in the headed into Saturday’s finals.
6. Bradi Good, 12.2 seconds
Good broke the barrier for the second night in a row, but two head caught means she’s advancing to the eight-woman round.
7. Shelby Boisjoli, 12.6 seconds
Mare “Onna” stood like a statue in the corner for Boisjoli, but the calf headed left hard, she the broke the barrier on the way to rope in 12.6 seconds.
8. Jackie Crawford – no time, miss
Crawford was late on the barrier and was outrun by her calf. She threw and the loop skipped off to the right side.
9. Martha Angelone – no time, miss
Like Crawford, Angelone was also late on the barrier and threw a loop that draped over the calves nose and had too much momentum to fish, falling off the left side. Her time from Thursday will see her advance to the eight-woman short round Saturday, though.
10. Sarah Angelone – no time, miss
Angelone’s tough luck in Sioux Falls continued, with mare “Wilma” acting antsy in the box.
11. Dani Lowman – no time, miss
Lowman pulled up to miss the barrier and threw too far right, missing her calf. Her 3.0-second time from Thursday is too slow to advance to Saturday too, unfortunately.
12. Hali Williams – no time, miss
Williams was unable to capitalize on the one-caught-times advancing, missing her calf with a loop that hit the calf’s right shoulder.
Sioux Falls Breakaway Round 1 Thursday Sept. 28, 2023
Kelsie Domer clinched Round 1 of the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a time of 1.9 seconds, winning $10,000 and moving from No. 7 in the gridlocked world standings to No. 6 in one evening.
The Round 1 calves proved to be overall slow, and a short three-under barrier saw two barrier penalties and several more breakaway ropers knocked off kilter as they tried to float the start and either hit their calf in the back of the head or catch with an illegal loop.
The notable run in Round 1 went to Dani Lowman, who kept cool as her calf rocketed down the arena. When she roped in 3.0 seconds early in the round, it seemed as though she may get shoved out of contention for Saturday’s eight-man round by faster times. The round seemed to fall apart more as it went, though, with ladies pushing the envelope on every front. By the end of Round 1, Lowman’s calm and collected method paid dividends with her sitting No. 5 in a field that will eventually be whittled to eight.
1. Kelsie Domer, 1.9 seconds, $10,000
Domer had a weak calf and went 1.9, timing the barrier perfectly using her left hand to set Little Man up as the calf stepped left. She swung once in the box, once coming across the barrier and threw.
2. Taylor Munsell, 2.0 seconds, $7,500
Munsell rode horse Colonel with no tie down. Her white calf ran hard, but she skipped across the barrier and launched a rocket to snag him on the gain, breaking her rope off in 2.0 seconds.
3. Martha Angelone, 2.1 seconds, $5,000
Angelone pinged the start on a bald-faced calf and roped deep on the shoulders to stop the clock in 2.1 seconds.
4. Jackie Crawford, 2.2 seconds, $2,500
Crawford threw all she had on 2023 American Rodeo-winning “Kevin” to pick up the last check in Round 1. The $2,500 gain gives Crawford enough to edge up a place in the world standings to No. 9 with $85,239.66, putting her on the heels of Cheyanne Guillory at No. 8 by just $463.42.
5. Danielle Lowman, 3.0 seconds
Lowman drew the runner of the group, but stayed collected and easily snagged him in 3.0 seconds. The catch plays a crucial role for her in the Governor’s Cup, but being a hole out of the money cost her in the world standings, where she lost her spot to Crawford and is now No. 10.
6. Shelby Boisjoli, 12.0 seconds
Boisjoli’s calf came out slower than others and she anticipated the start, tried to pull up at the barrier on mare Onna but broke it.
7. Bradi Good, 12.1 seconds
Good also fell victim to the short barrier and overall slower set of calves.
8. Maddy Deerman – no time, illegal catch
9. Hali Williams – no time, illegal catch
Williams pulled Red Light across the line and snuck past the barrier, then recovered with an extra swing, waiting until her calf took a step into the loop to deliver. Unfortunately, she hung a tail and her 2.4 turned into a no time.
10. Sarah Angelone – no time, miss
Angelone pushed her rope and ran out of rope as her calf swapped strides and took off, resulting in a miss by hitting him in the shoulders.
11. Kendal Pierson – no time, miss
Pierson pushed her rope and hit her calf in the back of the head
12. Joey Williams – no time, miss
Williams got out perfect to the pin on Baybe, but when her calf dropped his head and stepped left, her rope skipped to the right of his head instead of over his neck.
Coverage is supported by our friends at Top Hand Ropes.
