WPRA NEWS Aug2022

caught a ride to Killdeer with Lari Dee Guy. After roping at Cody, Wyoming – where she was 2.0 but broke the barrier – Edens jumped in with Amanda Coleman, of Stephenville, Texas and McKenna Hickson, of Lipan, Texas to compete at Mobridge, South Dakota and Belle Fourche. She was 2.4 at Belle Fourche for $4,426. Edens rode her backup horse, T-Box at Killdeer where the 10-year- old roan gelding helped her place 15 th . “I got him right before the Fourth. I didn’t get much practice time on him,” Edens said. Edens credits her two “gurus” for her 2022 success. “My mother races barrels and takes care of the horses. She’s our guru about that,” said Edens. “Whenever our horses need work, she is going to do it.” Her father Tommy, a former Wrangler National Finals Rodeo team roping qualifier, handles the competitive side. “He’s the guru about roping,” added Edens of her father, who also handles her scheduling. “He sees stuff that I don’t when I am

put up identical 3.5-second runs to place in each round and third in the average for another $4,343. Edens was aboard her primary horse Judy, a 13-year-old bay mare. The horse is registered as LA Dona Kitty out of Anna Wood and by High Bobcat. “She lets me do my job,” Edens said of her partner. “She lets me do what I need to do. It doesn’t matter if I have to be fast or just get a catch. “At Prescott, my first calf turned around on me and the second calf ran off. Judy let me make the run on both.” Preparing to leave Prescott, mother and daughter ran into trouble when Lori Edens put diesel exhaust fluid in the wrong tank. “She realized what she had done right away,” said Jordi Edens. The younger Edens grabbed a flight out of Phoenix with Jackie Crawford to Denver. Tommy Edens was able to find a mechanic in Prescott who repaired the vehicle and got Lori Edens on the road the next day. The plan was to have Tommy Edens meet up with his daughter in Colorado so the trip to the airport was a small detour. The father and daughter made the 432-mile trip north to Belle Fourche where Jordi Jordi Edens roped her way to the top of the leaderboard as the top breakaway earner over the Fourth of July with $15,156. She collected checks in Prescott, Arizona (shown here), Belle Fourche, S.D. and Oakley, Utah.

struggling. If I’m having problems, he sees it and can fix it.” The fuel for her Fourth of July fire goes back to 2021. A year ago, Edens came up completely empty during the same time frame. She went home and practiced every day for two weeks. Edens would win $12,000 at Cheyenne Frontier Days. “I learned this is what happens when you practice every day,” she said. “I learned you have to put the work in. I learned if you don’t put any effort into it, you’re not going to get anything in return. “I’ve matured with my roping. Last year, I would mess up and would still be thinking about it on my next run. This year, I’m more focused. Always move forward.” A two-time national high school runner-up for breakaway roping, Edens plans to attend Texas A&M Commerce this fall where she plans to major in real estate and business marketing. She previously attended Hill College. And she has already made one smart business decision. “We put the money in my savings account,” said Edens. “It’s been a good year.” Jordi Edens was hoping she would be the high money winner over the Fourth of July. In fact, it was a goal of hers that she kept to herself but was the driving force behind her focus during the first week of July. As a result, she has now put herself in position to earn a spot in the National Finals Breakaway Roping.

BREAKAWAY ROPING 1. Jordi Edens

$15,156 $12,629 $11,431 $8,912 $8,863 $8,439 $8.231 $7,616 $6,888 $6,742

2. Taylor Hanchey 3. Sawyer Gilbert 4. Taylor Munsell 5. Rickie Engesser 6. Aspen Miller 7. Joey Williams 8. Maddy Deerman

9. JJ Hampton

10. Kayse Mahoney

AUGUST 2022 WPRA NEWS 15

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online