Sarah Angelone pulled together a tremendous weekend of ProRodeo winning Aug. 9–11, 2024, picking up checks at five rodeos in four states to amass $14,096 in winnings.

Angelone’s top finishes include wins at the Cache County Fair and Rodeo in Logan, UT, for $4,019, and the Cascade Pro Rodeo in Montana for $2,206.

“My Cascade run and Hermiston 1.9-second run were the best runs I’ve made in a long time,” Angelone, 25, said. “At Hermiston, I knew I had a good calf and needed to blast because I was a little longer on my first run. I just hit the start, and I can’t tell you about the rest because it was so fast.”

Sarah Angelone’s big weekend wins

• Farm-City Pro Rodeo, Hermiston, OR — No. 3 in average, 4.8 on 2, $4,687
• Cache County Fair and Rodeo, Logan, UT — No. 1 (tie) 2.2, $4,019
• Cascade Pro Rodeo Cascade, Cascade, MT — No. 1, 2.3, $2,604
• Jerome County Fair, Jerome, ID, No. 3, 2.1, $1,844
• Bozeman Stampede, Bozeman MT — No. 8, 2.8, $942

For Angelone, the money is welcomed—but she’s still very uncomfortable hanging around the No. 15 bubble for the NFBR cutoff.

“It’s hard because even if you had a great week, everyone else had a great week too,” Angelone said. “It’s hard to make any ground up right now.”

Learn from Sarah Angelone on Roping.com here.

Where is Angelone sitting?

By The Breakaway Roping Journal’s unofficial calculations, Angelone has won $62,410 on the year. And going by the WPRA’s Standings updated Aug. 6, she hypothetically moved from No. 16 to No. 10, right behind Macy Young. But in reality, the earnings of her peers have shifted upwards, too, meaning her actual gain is less.

Never less, it’s safe to say that Angelone has done enough to break into the Top 15 again—a territory that’s littered with NFBR-Qualifying names including Kelsie Domer, Kendal Pierson, Bradi Good and Jordan Jo Hollabaugh. It’s a new experience for her, considering she entered the 2023 NFBR in the cushy No. 4 position.

“Last year I didn’t worry about making the Finals,” Angelone said. “And this year, I haven’t been to as many rodeos as other people, so I feel behind and I’m trying to catch up. There are so many rodeos this year and a lot of added money.”

Summer 2024 strategy

Speaking of added money, Angelone and hauling partner Danielle Lowman have picking and choosing ProRodeos this summer—a relatively new luxury for breakaway ropers.

Their criteria? At least $5,000 in added money and a reasonable travel path that keeps them from driving in circles. As their summer has ticked along, both ladies have started to gain momentum.

“Starting out this summer was kind of rough, honestly,” Angelone said. “But after the Fourth of July—second or third week in July—I started realizing, ‘I’m out here, I want to make the Finals, so I need to start reacting.’ I was so worried about trying to win, focusing on making the Finals, and I needed to take things one run at a time.”

Angelone explained that she’d been trying to think about too many aspects of her run at once, when she ought to focus on one or two points.

“I’m taking it one calf at a time and one setup at a time,” Angelone said. “Think about what I need to do there. Honestly, the main thing I think about is ‘Start.’ Because the rest is reaction. There is no time to think about all that other stuff.”

Angelone’s game plan for the remaining six weeks of rodeo? Grind. It. Out. She noted that this time last year, her NFBR Qualification was secured. This time, she’s not as safe, and has zero intention of heading home without Las Vegas on the calendar.