With the end of the ProRodeo regular season bearing down on the cowgirls, and Puyallup a little more than a week away, The Breakaway Roping Journal team thought it would be necessary to outline the tangle of ground rules, standings and more that encompass the last few weeks of the ProRodeo Playoff Series.
Table of contents
So, what’s at stake?
In short, a lot. The Washington State Fair (Puyallup), taking place Sept. 5–8, is paying $73,000 in the breakaway roping, and the most a roper could earn is $19,900—the equivalent of a really nice week (or two) of winning at one event.
And with eight breakaway ropers competing that are currently outside the Top 15, the money is an opportunity to edge closer to the NFBR cutoff. What’s more, is that Puyallup is a potential entry into Sioux Falls, which takes place on the last weekend ProRodeo regular season Sept. 26–28.
When it comes to Sioux Falls, the stakes are even higher. The breakaway roping is set to pay a total of $144,444, and the most a single contestant could come away with is $41,000. Considering the No. 1 and No. 15 ropers in the World Standings are only separated by $52,095, a big weekend in Sioux Falls could boost a lower-seeded breakaway roper into World Championship territory or give a roper with more money a powerful lead heading into Las Vegas.
Now that a frame of reference has been established, dive into what it’s going to take to get to these rodeos.
But first, what is the ProRodeo Playoff Series?
Think of the Playoff Series as a WPRA Circuit without borders, where the prize isn’t money—but points. Select rodeos are designated as part of this series, and the top 20 placings at these rodeos are eligible for points. Puyallup and Sioux Falls are the finale of the Playoff Series.
Who gets into Puyallup?
There will be 24 breakaway ropers in Puyallup. The top 23 from the Playoff Series standings (see below) plus the NFR Open Champion Jenna Dallyn. If Dallyn does not enter, the next highest ranked breakaway roper that competed in the NFR Open Final Round of Four will be accepted. If those four do not accept, or are already qualified via the Playoff Series Standings, the next highest roper in the standings who enters will be accepted.
Puyallup daysheets
Perf 1, 2 — Thursday and Friday Sept. 5–6
- Jordan Jo Hollabaugh
- Braylee Shepherd
- Beau Peterson
- Jill Tanner
- Danielle Lowman
- Lari Dee Guy
- Bradi Good
- Jackie Crawford
- Kelsie Domer
- Maddy Deerman
- Taylor Munsell
- Martha Angelone
Perf 3, 4 — Saturday Sept. 7
- Madalyn Richards
- Aspen Miller
- TiAda Gray
- Hali Williams
- Macy Young
- Jenna Dallyn
- Sarah Angelone
- Kendal Pierson
- Rylee George
- Shelby Boisjoli-Meged
- Rickie Fanning
- Josie Conner
2024 ProRodeo Playoff Series Breakaway Standings Thru Aug. 24
* denotes ropers inside the WPRA Top 15
| Place | Name | Points | Rodeo Count |
| 1 | Josie Conner* | 1,159.69 | 38 |
| 2 | Martha Angelone* | 1,052.32 | 39 |
| 3 | Taylor Munsell* | 982.07 | 39 |
| 4 | Rickie Fanning* | 957.78 | 33 |
| 5 | Shelby Boisjoli-Meged* | 829.59 | 35 |
| 6 | Maddy Deerman* | 810.71 | 28 |
| 7 | Kelsie Domer* | 800.75 | 35 |
| 8 | Rylee George* | 714 | 40 |
| 9 | Kendal Pierson* | 678.6 | 41 |
| 10 | Jackie Crawford* | 666.93 | 39 |
| 11 | Bradi Good | 640.35 | 40 |
| 12 | Sarah Angelone* | 607.51 | 32 |
| 13 | Lari Dee Guy | 586.07 | 38 |
| 14 | Danielle Lowman* | 553.39 | 36 |
| 15 | Macy Young* | 525.3 | 33 |
| 16 | Hali Williams* | 516.84 | 33 |
| 17 | Jill Tanner | 439.26 | 29 |
| 18 | Beau Peterson | 423.89 | 39 |
| 19 | TiAda Gray | 420.3 | 31 |
| 20 | Aspen Miller | 396.59 | 33 |
| 21 | Braylee Shepherd | 381.38 | 35 |
| 22 | Jordan Jo Hollabaugh* | 375.38 | 30 |
| 23 | Madalyn Richards | 373.74 | 26 |
But wait, there’s more (Sioux Falls edition)
As mentioned, the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls holds a lot of opportunity for breakaway ropers eyeing a NFBR berth or World Championship.
So, how to ropers get into Sioux Falls? The ground rules say:
“The top 4 from the Cinch Playoff Series Rodeo in Puyallup from each event will be accepted as entries. The top 8 in the 2024 Playoff Series Standings as of September 16, 2024, who are not already qualified
among the top 4 from Puyallup who enter will also be accepted as entries.”
This means the Playoff Series standings don’t end at Puyallup. A roper can make it to Puyallup—but if they want to hedge their bets of making it into Sioux Falls (because remember, only four of the 23 breakaway ropers go from Puyallup to Sioux Falls) they need to keep hauling, capitalize on the remaining Playoff Series rodeos and try to break into the top eight in the Playoff Standings.
Here are the remaining Playoff Series rodeos:
- Magic Valley Stampede, Filer, ID, Aug. 29–31
- Ellensburg Rodeo, Ellensburg, WA, Aug. 30–Sept. 2
- Walla Walla Frontier Days, Walla Walla, WA, Aug. 30–Sept. 1
- West Texas Fair & Rodeo, Abilene, TX, Sept. 6–14
- Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, OR, Sept. 11–14
- New Mexico State Fair & Rodeo, Albuquerque, NM, Sept. 11–15
