CALIFORNIA CIRCUIT: BREAKAWAY
NEVER TO LATE Cagliari Catching Her Second Wind as a Breakaway Roper By Kristen M. White Y ears ago, Cathy Cagliari did a lot of breakaway roping, and she thoroughly enjoyed the event. But after she graduated from high school and college rodeo, there wasn’t much opportunity for roping, so she concentrated her efforts on
barrel racing. Fast forward and now gold card member Cagliari is back into roping, and proving that her skills are still there. She won the average at the Ram California Circuit Finals, earning a berth to the NFR Open. “I like the way that (the growth in breakaway roping at professional rodeos) has opened up opportunities for us to compete at this level in different events,” Cagliari said. “And for the girls who don’t barrel race, it gives them an event to go in. It offers so many more options for women in rodeo. Not everyone is a barrel racer or is afforded the opportunity of a great barrel horse.” As it turns out, Cagliari runs barrels and breakaway ropes off the same horse, Curly Sue. Now 15 this year, Cagliari has been running barrels on Curly Sue since her futurity years. Then a few years back, when breakaway started to grow in popularity at pro rodeos, she added breakaway roping to the horse’s repertoire. “As a kid I did all the things on my horses, and they became better all around,” she said. “I think it makes them well-rounded horses, maybe a little more gritty and focused on their jobs. And maybe they don’t get burned out just running barrels all the time.” In the early days of her career, Cagliari did a little team roping and breakaway roping when there was an event here and there. But she went through a period where the horse she roped on had aged out, so she quit roping altogether for a bit. A few years ago, friends got her
back into roping. “A good friend of mine, Patti Parker and her husband, Jim, told me to come to their house and get to roping, and they helped me make my mare into a breakaway horse,” Cagliari said. “Patti passed away in 2020, and she always loved roping and running barrels, so it’s been really nice to do this with her in mind.” This year, Cagliari didn’t qualify for the circuit finals in barrel racing, so she put all her efforts into breakaway roping there. She went in with the goal of catching all three, and being on the barrier, but not breaking out. “I tend to be the kind to go out and try to win the rounds,” she said. “But in watching the circuit finals last year, I had seen that over three rounds, the key to winning the finals would be to catch every calf. So I visualized roping each one.” She started off with a bang, winning the first round in 2.9 seconds, ahead of Liz Hirdes in 3.0 seconds. In the second round - won by Hanna Hundsdorfer in a rodeo-best 2.6 seconds - Cagliari was fourth in 3.2 seconds, putting her in good position for the average with one run to go. “Right before the third round, I thought, ‘I’m going to draw the calf they won the second round on,’ and that’s the calf I got! I just kept telling myself I’d draw the best calves and get them roped. And I did.” In the third round, Cagliari’s time of 3.1 seconds tied her for fourth with Hundsdorfer. Fallon Ruffoni won the round in 2.7 seconds. It gave Cagliari a three-head average of 9.2 seconds. Whitlee Burgess finished second in 10.6 seconds. Hundsdorfer, who bought her permit in 2021 and then upgraded her card to rookie that year, won the year-end title and will be the other California representative at the NFR Open. As a gold card member, Cagliari’s win shows just how strong the competition is in breakaway roping at any age. “I’m excited, I haven’t been to Colorado Springs,” Cagliari said. “I’ve been staying closer to home, Oregon and Arizona, but I haven’t been out that far in the past several years. I’m entering both events at as many rodeos as I can, which gets a little tricky, but I’m having a really good time.” WPRA Gold Card member Cathy Cagliari is roping new titles with her most recent coming at the California Circuit Finals. Cagliari won the average title in a time of 9.2 seconds on three head and will now get a chance to compete at the NFR Open in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Photo by Crystal Amen
Hanna Hundsdorfer, who competed as a rookie breakaway roper in 2022, captured the year-end title in the California Circuit. She roped $9,244 in earnings and will be looking to add more to her bank account at the $1 million NFR Open in July. Photo by Crystal Amen
MARCH 2023
WOMEN’S PRO RODEO NEWS 69
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