Martha and Sarah Angelone are two sisters originally from Virginia inside the top five in the WPRA breakaway world standings with $89,131 and $85,901 in winnings, respectively.

Martha has been hitting the ProRodeo trail for a few years with great success, winning the 2022 world championship, while Sarah has prioritized training horses at home in Lipan, Texas. This year, Martha managed to drag younger sister Sarah out on the road to compete.

Sarah’s hot summer run

“For her to come out here saying she was only going to go to Reno and Cheyenne—to staying out here all summer…it’s going to be worth it,” Martha, 28, said. “It feels really good to be doing so well together. At the beginning of the year, I told Sarah I wanted to be going into the Finals No. 1 and No. 2. That’s the ultimate goal—hopefully I can keep her out here that long.”

Sarah was convinced by Martha to enter the 2022 WPRA World Finals, where she won the all-around championship. That punched her ticket to the 2023 winter rodeos, setting her up for success throughout the year. By the first of June, Sarah had earned $31,459 and was sitting No. 8 while Martha lingered near the top of the standings. As of August 4, 2023, Martha is No. 3 in the world with $89,131 while Sarah is No. 5, just $3,230 behind her.

“The rodeo road has been what I was expecting. We’re either driving, eating, sleeping, roping or doing laundry.”

– Sarah Angelone

“I think about how cool it’s going to be that we’re going to make the NFBR the same year,” Sarah, 24, said. “I told Martha I wanted to go in back-to-back whether it’s first and second or not. The past three years I’ve been watching from the sidelines swearing I wasn’t going to rodeo—and I am still wondering how crazy I am—but I am excited for the opportunities.”

Despite her hesitation about ProRodeo, Sarah is determined to preserve their 2023 memories together by making a scrapbook with photos of their summer run. It’s become a bit of a joke, with friends poking fun at Sarah every time the camera comes out.

“Being on the road with Sarah this summer hasn’t been much different than when we were in high school together,” Martha said. “It’s been nice because last year I went by myself, and I got used to doing everything by myself. It’s nice to have Sarah here, and we haven’t even gotten into a fight yet.”

Martha’s biggest summer checks:

Cheyenne Frontier Days, July 22–30, $7,434

Cody Stampede, Wyoming, July 1–4, $5,104

California Rodeo Salinas, California, July 20–23, $3,432

Sarah’s biggest summer checks:

Reno Rodeo, Nevada, June 16–24, $10,751

Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo, Vernal, Utah, July 6–8, $5,089

Snake River Stampede, Nampa, Idaho, July 18–22, $6,058

Backed into a corner

Sarah has undoubtedly been missing her breakaway prospects at home, saying that although the break is likely good for them that she’s worried they’re falling behind in their training.

“I planned on coming home after Cheyenne, I wanted to win $60,000 because I thought that would be enough to make the finals this year—which I don’t know now,” Sarah said. “That was the plan, and Martha pretty much pinned me against the wall and said ‘Look, I am entering you and you can either pay turnout fines or you can stay.’ So, I guess I’m staying a little bit longer.”

The real rodeo road

As far as splitting daily duties, Martha does the entering and cooking, while Sarah cleans the trailer and feeds the horses.

“It’s a sleepover every night,” Martha said enthusiastically.

The two seem to complement one another, too, recalling their inability to get a saddle on the top rack in their trailer—a quest that ended in hysterical laughter.

“The other night in Riverton, Wyoming, Martha missed the crap out of one and I ran through the barrier,” Sarah said. “We were just dying laughing. We couldn’t even put the ramp up on the trailer because we were laughing so hard, and people were looking at us like we were crazy because we just both sucked so bad.”

Managing the mental side

But rodeo comes with tough times too, a part of the deal Martha said is easier with her sister around.

“You can rodeo with other people, friends, but I feel like it’s a lot easier when you’re rodeoing with your family,” Martha said.” I’ve hauled with other people and when things don’t go right, they get negative and it’s been a lot easier with Sarah because we both have the same attitude.”

Sarah’s method for irritated Martha? Give her five minutes to cool off.

“A big thing about ProRodeo is, yeah you get frustrated and down, but you have to remember you’re literally headed to the next one,” Sarah said. “You get a chance to run another one either that night or the next morning. If you get too negative, it’s just going to carry over into everything else.”