Photos: RC Photography
Cowgirls took over the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, yesterday during the annual Charlie 1 Horse All-Girl Challenge as part of BFI week.
The day began with the team roping, with 184 teams entered, during which Whitney DeSalvo left no doubt about her status as the world’s best female heeler.
DeSalvo took the top three placings with three different partners to take a staggering $28,875 and a truckload of prizes.
“I just tried to rope every steer,” said DeSalvo, whose mare bucked on the very first run of the day, after which DeSalvo caught 11 of 11 steers on the second hop. “I didn’t even know what my times were.”
The three-time WPRA World Champion won the roping with header Hope Thompson, who earned a total of $20,750.
In Guthrie at the high callback position, Thompson had to fish her head loop on, but DeSalvo said watching her partner split the horns meant she wasn’t nervous anymore. The pair salvaged a 9.72-second run for a four-head total that edged DeSalvo’s time with Lari Dee Guy by just two-tenths of a second.
“I heard my partner holler, ‘You got him, you got him,’ so I turned off,” said Thompson. “I actually had a feeling this morning we were going to win it. It feels just like 2017 for us.” (In 2017, Thompson and DeSalvo won the WPRA World Championship together.)
Thompson has entered the Charlie 1 Horse Challenge for years, but this was her first victory.
“This is one of those ropings that’s a goal for any girl who team ropes,” she said. “The BFI is one you really want to win. The steers were great, and the start was, too.”
Photo: RC Photography | Hope Thompson
AVERAGE RESULTS
Hope Thompson and Whitney DeSalvo, 33.38 seconds, $30,000; 2. Lari Dee Guy and Whitney DeSalvo, 33.58, $16,000; 3. Audrey Hart and Whitney DeSalvo, 36.01, $11,000; 4. Debbie Robbins and Danielle Lowman, 38.53, $9,500; 5. Christa Carter and Annette Stahl, 38.64, $7,500; 6. Hope Thompson and Rylie Smith, 40.86, $4,000; 7. Teri Stamper and Brittany Stamper, 42.59, $3,500; 8. Erica Lozares and Michelle Wilson, 42.85, $3,000; 9. Halie Richey and Emilee Moyer, 43.88, $2,500; 10. Bethanie Shofner and Abbie Shofner, 44.67, $2,000.
For full results and more information on this year’s Charlie 1 Horse Team Roping, click here.
In the afternoon, the breakaway ropers took the arena for the 4th annual Charlie 1 Horse Breakaway. A record 138 ropers entered, including a handful of world champions, but at the end of the day, rookie Amanda Coleman came out on top, earning the first-place prize of $10,000 cash, plus a trophy saddle and buckle.
It was just last year that the Floridian moved to Stephenville, Texas, renting a home from Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) world champion Jackie Crawford, to spend her final year of high school online, living and practicing with female calf ropers.
“My goal is to make a living breakaway roping,” said Coleman.
True to conditions of the BFI, hard-running calves were given a healthy head start. Just three-tenths of a second separated the top eight heading into the short round, and Coleman reached at her calf to clock a quick 3.49-second run at the eighth call-back for the win.
“Getting to rope with women like this, and for this kind of money, is crazy,” she said. “Who would think you could drive four hours and win $10,000? You don’t hear about things like that.”
AVERAGE RESULTS
Amanda Coleman, 11.24 seconds on three head, $10,000; 2. Kelcie Chase, 11.51, $7,000; 3. Aspen Miller, 11.62, $5,000; 4. Maddy Deerman, 11.68, $4,000; 5. McKenna Hickson, 11.69, $3,700; 6. Bethanie Schofner, 11.96, $2,600; 7. Skylar Southerland, 13.04, $2,000; 8. Jackie Crawford, 13.51, $1,500; 9. Gabby Lassiter, 13.59, $1,300; 10. Jordan Fabrizio, 14.08, $1,100.
For full results and more info on this year’s Charlie 1 Horse Breakaway Roping, click here.
Photo: RC Photography | Kelsie Chase
Photo: RC Photography | Lari Dee Guy
Photo: RC Photography | Jackie Crawford