Colombia River Circuit breakaway ropers take advantage of heavy-hitting rodeos on their schedule—such as the Pendleton Round-Up—to give them a last-minute boost ahead of their Circuit Finals in Redmond, Oregon, Oct. 19–21, 2023.
“Our circuit was the first one to get ProRodeos started at Coulee City,” Bailey Patterson of Pendleton, Oregon, said of the PRCA’s Last Stand Rodeo in Washington, the first to pay equal money in the breakaway in 2017. “So, it was pretty cool to get to rope at Pendleton early on—I think it’s five or six years I’ve roped at Pendleton. Pendleton is so prestigious, and to have equal added money is great.”
Patterson, an RN on a surgical floor, works night shifts to make rodeo work with her schedule. At the 2023 Pendleton Round-Up, she posted the fastest time—2.5 seconds—in the first go round to win $4,143. In the short go, she drew a fast one for a 4.4-second time and another $949, to round out Pendleton at No. 2 in the average for an additional $4,971. In all, she won $10,009, distancing herself from the rest of the Columbia River Circuit field.
She did so on mare “Stella,” who she’s ridden in every Pendleton Round-Up she’s competed in. Registered as JW Trapper Tuff (Trapper Bar Drop x Tuff Tinky Lena x Tuff Lena), the 18-year-old mare makes some of the difficult variables at Pendleton a little easier.
“How she breaks to the pin and tracks cattle—she makes it feel like any other rodeo,” Patterson said.
Final regular-season standings for the Columbia River Circuit
| Rank | Name | Hometown | Money Won | Rodeos Attended |
| 1 | Bailey Patterson | Pendleton, OR | $25,608.98 | 32 |
| 2 | Jordan Minor | Hermiston, OR | $16,404.84 | 30 |
| 3 | Kiley Streeter | Palisades, WA | $9,554.76 | 28 |
| 4 | Mattie Turner | Wilsonville, OR | $8,495.29 | 31 |
| 5 | Shayla Currin | Dayton, WA | $8,367.73 | 30 |
| 6 | Millie Greenwood | Caldwell, ID | $8,164.38 | 28 |
| 7 | Brittany White | Jordan Valley, OR | $7,652.79 | 22 |
| 8 | Josie Goodrich | Stanfield, OR | $6,767.21 | 29 |
| 9 | Rylee Hansen | Weiser, ID | $6,176.93 | 23 |
| 10 | Julia Reeves | Melba, ID | $4,648.67 | 19 |
| 11 | Britni Carlson | Herminston, OR | $4,534.99 | 29 |
| 12 | Annie Minor | Ellensburg, WA | $4,274.18 | 27 |
“Pendleton is a big game-changer for everyone in our circuit,” Jordan Minor said. “There are no guarantees; it’s never one you can bank on doing well at, but if it goes well, it can really change everything in the circuit. I am really happy for Bailey. I had that kind of success at Pendleton last year and it helped me win the circuit.”
Patterson’s husband Trevor and Minor are cousins, making the two distantly related through marriage. Although both are competitive, they support one another completely.
Minor picked up a total of $4,316 at the Pendleton Round-Up, positioning herself No. 2 in the circuit with an eye on winning.
“I am going to go for every calf. I feel like that’s all breakaway is anymore, there is no room for safety-ing up,”she said.
Minor’s father, Shane Crosley, called the Pendleton breakaway calves all week, too—a consistent and valuable asset since the setup requires calves to run up from under the stands, out of sight of the roper in the box.
While Patterson has almost certainly secured the Colombia River Circuit year-end title, Minor still has a chance to clinch the aggregate championship and advance to the NFR Open for the second year in a row.
