Speaking Up: First-Ever WRWC Commissioner Linsay Sumpter
5 Elements Of Success In Breakaway Roping With Linsay Sumpter

Linsay Sumpter seems to be the talk of the rodeo industry with her new position as commissioner of the Women’s Rodeo World Championship, but who is this cowgirl at her core, and what exactly does she have planned for the future of breakaway roping and other women’s events?  

When Linsay Sumpter heard rumors of an event that was shelling out $750,000 to rodeo’s female athletes in 2020, she had to see it for herself. She loaded up her breakaway horse and drove over 600 miles from her Colorado home to Fort Worth, Texas, to see what this Women’s Rodeo World Championship was all about.  

Sumpter didn’t walk away with much money in her pockets, but she was fired up after watching ropers like young Madison Outhier cash in for $60,000 in the breakaway, and veteran Jackie Crawford pull in $20,000 in the all-around. She headed home with her mind spinning. 

An association that gives every cowgirl with internet access the ability to nominate local jackpots, rodeos and futurities for less than most entry fees cost seemed mythical. However, she had just watched team ropers Hope Thompson and Rylee Smith cash a team check worth $120,000 with her own eyes.  

Once the shock subsided, Sumpter began brainstorming how to improve the event and discovered one thing was for sure: She wanted to be involved. She picked up the phone and rang up WCRA President Bobby Mote to share her ideas.  

As Mote soon found out, Sumpter isn’t the average competitor. Born and raised in Northern California, her roots run deep in the Western industry.  

“Rodeo was a genetic default of mine growing up,” Sumter explained. “My grandfather is Cotton Rosser. He’s a ProRodeo Hall of Fame stock contractor—one of the living legends in the business.”  

Until she was 13 years old, Sumpter was a trick rider and carried flags on stages as big as the NFR. When she transitioned to competing in high school rodeo, she qualified to the National High School Finals Rodeo. Sumpter also got her first taste of public speaking and defending the sport of rodeo when, at the age of 15, she stood in front of the California State Legislature and spoke on behalf of the agricultural industry regarding a harsh animal welfare bill. After high school, Sumpter attended California Polytechnic State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and competed at the College National Finals Rodeo. 

Following her time at Cal Poly, Sumpter moved to Colorado to work in public relations and marketing for the Professional Bull Riders—an experience that taught her about rodeo production at a corporate level and provided her with a better understanding of the greater industry.  

“When I started working for the PBR, I learned how to better my writing skills and learned to better my articulation to break the sport down and communicate with, say, somebody in New York who doesn’t know anything about rodeo,” Sumpter said. 

Living in Colorado also afforded  the opportunity to meet six-time NFR steer wrestler, Wade Sumpter. The two fell in love and later married and,  with the marriage also came a new career path for Sumpter.  

The now mother of two boys found that she could combine her love for helping others with her favorite sport by coaching a collegiate team, and that led her to apply for a head rodeo coaching position at Otero Community College. Sumpter has now spent 13 years in that position helping more than 300 student athletes at the college. And, in recent years, Sumpter has further expanded her reach by joining the elite team of coaches offering best-in-class instruction on BreakawayRoping.com. 

5 Elements Of Success In Breakaway Roping With Linsay Sumpter
BRJ File Photo/Kaitlin Gustave

When she is not advancing the professional and athletic careers of her students, Sumpter—who had hung up her ropes and trained barrel horses early in her career with the PBR—is tapping back into her breakaway roots and now trains horses for some of the top ropers in the country, including Cheyenne Guillory’s High Flyin Hawk and 2021 WPRA World Champion Sawyer Gilbert’s Miss Popular Resort.  

“I’m one [from] the generation [that] has dusted their rope can off and came back,” Sumpter stated. “If I can help bridge a gap so that never happens again, of course I want to be part of it. This sport has given me and my family so much, all I want to do is make it better.” 

Sumpter’s motto in life is to seize every opportunity that comes her way, but really, she takes it a step farther in her daily life. This cowgirl does not sit around and wait on opportunities to come to her. Instead, she puts herself in line of fire and rises to the occasion without anybody asking, just as she proved when she jumped in to advise Mote and the rest of the WCRA.  

Sumpter’s experience and passion for women’s rodeo is what makes her an invaluable asset to the event . When Mote offered Sumpter the role of commissioner for the WRWC, Sumpter had to mull over her decision extensively—for an entire 10 seconds— before enthusiastically accepting. Since her role in the organization was made official, Sumpter has spent even more time drumming up ideas for how to raise awareness for and improve the WRWC, which takes place in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 16—18.  

“One of my immediate goals as Commissioner is to open the lines of communication for contestants with the WRWC,” Sumpter offered. “I want everyone to understand how easy the process is to nominate all the events that you attended, whether it be a large jackpot, rodeo, or even a small gymkhana. I am also going to put together a group of diverse women to assist me in a competition committee to ensure that the event rules are fair and adequate for all competitors.” 

With the partnership and immediate plans in place, Sumpter is also looking at what is on the horizon for the sport of rodeo, and specifically, the role women will play in that future.  

“My hope for the future of women in the sport is to see more women make a living in the sport they love.  I want to see fewer women sell their barrel horses or hang up their rope bags because they cannot afford to make a living competing,” Sumpter concluded. 

All eyes will be on Sumpter in the upcoming months, including those of industry greats like The Team Roping Journal’s Senior Editor, Kendra Santos.  

“Linsay stepping up and into a leadership role in our industry comes as no surprise to those of us lucky enough to have watched her grow from a gritty, fun-loving little girl into a working wife and mom,” Santos said. “Linsay and I share an alma mater in Cal Poly, where our motto was ‘Learn by Doing’ and we learned to tackle challenges with perseverance and integrity. Mark my words: Linsay Rosser Sumpter will make a difference when it comes to positive change for women in rodeo,” Santos said.  

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