BREAKING DOWN THE BREAKAWAY

ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST ADVANCES FOR WOMEN IN THE SPORT OF RODEO IS BREAKAWAY ROPING. WITH CAREERS BEING MADE AND RECORDS BEING BROKEN, COWGIRLS NOW HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE FUTURE OF MAJOR LEAGUE COMPETITION.

- JORDAN JO FABRIZIO

You have a calf, you have a girl, you have a horse, and you have a rope,” says veteran roper and trainer Jordan Jo Fabrizio. “You tie your rope onto your saddle horn. You back into the box and nod for the release of your calf. You chase and rope your calf and the fastest time wins. It’s as simple as that!”

Right!

Wanda Bush was the first woman to win a professional roping title and she accomplished that feat in tie-down roping in 1951. Breakaway roping evolved from those early days, so in a sense, breakaway roping is half the tie-down; that is, instead of roping and leaving your mount for the “tiedown” portion, in breakaway roping you remain in your saddle after your catch and get your time when the rope literally breaks away from your saddle horn.

Jordan Jo Fabrizio evolved into breakaway roping naturally. A rider since age 4 and part of a rodeo family, she really didn’t have a choice. “That’s what we did,” she states.

She started team roping early on and by the time she entered college at West Texas A&M University, where she earned her M.B.A. in Business Administration Management, Jordan Jo was all about the breakaway.

“Raymond Hollabaugh was the coach at West Texas A&M,” says Jordan. “He helped me evolve and master the sport. That’s where I really started homing in on it.”

She now serves as the school’s assistant rodeo coach.

Jordan Jo is an important player in the world of rodeo, winning the first-ever Cheyenne Frontier Days Breakaway Championship in 2019 and qualifying for the WCRA Days of 47 and RFD-TV’s The American and Rodeo New York.

Breakaway roping has been around for some time, but in the past couple of years, it has taken on a new meaning.