WPRA NEWS March 2023

SOPHOMORE SEASON Miller Marks First Career ProRodeo Breakaway Roping Win in Odessa By Ted Harbin O ver the last year and a half, Aspen Miller has been on a training course, so to speak.

She bought her WPRA permit to begin the 2022 season and filled it the second week of October 2021 at the rodeo in Bellville, Texas. She had also begun an intercollegiate career at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. The lessons came early, and they lasted. Through the trials and tribulations of her inaugural college campaign and her rookie season as a breakaway roper in the WPRA, she gained a considerable amount of knowledge without much success – she finished 61st on the ProRodeo Breakaway Roping money list in 2022.

She couldn’t have kickstarted things any better to begin the 2023 calendar year, stopping the clock in a lightning-quick 1.7 seconds to win the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo in Odessa, Texas, in early January. As the opening month of the year came to a close, she was 16th in the world standings, thanks primarily to the $5,790 she pocketed in west Texas.

Aspen Miller ropes her first ProRodeo title at the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo in Odessa, Texas, to kickoff her 2023 rodeo season. She stopped the clock in 1.7 seconds for the win. Photo by Robby Freeman

(four) times. First is definitely a lot better than splitting 14th.” Yes, it is. Beyond that, momentum can swing in an upwardly direction at the right time. With big winter rodeos still on the horizon, there is a good chance Miller can continue to cash in. “This was my first ProRodeo win without splitting first with somebody else,” she said. “I don’t mind splitting it with somebody, but it’s pretty cool when you get to keep it yourself.” It’s 570 miles from her home to Ector County Coliseum, but having the opportunity to compete in that storied complex was worth every mile. Of course, having success on a horse her father, Craig, purchased for her and trained for her helps a ton. Iggy is a 10-year-old sorrel mare she’s had for four years, and she sees a bright future of working together with the brilliant red horse. “She’s very gritty, and she gives her 100 percent effort every time,” Miller said of Iggy. “She’s very tough, and she makes it easy. “This win gives me a good start to the rodeo season. It definitely makes me feel good and makes me feel like I could win at other places.”

“That’s a great rodeo to win,” said Miller of Santa Fe, in extreme southeast Texas near Galveston Bay. “It pays great, and it’s great for both circuit money and ProRodeo money. It definitely boosts your confidence going into a big year. “I didn’t have the year I wanted to last year. It was a lot of learning and a lot of adjusting. I did well at a few rodeos over the Fourth (of July). It was definitely different and lots of fun. It was good going on your first year and not have as much pressure.” The pressure is on now for the youngster, who had just graduated high school about five months before she earned her right to compete in the WPRA. Now in her sophomore campaign, Miller is third in the Texas Circuit standings, and she’s opened a great number of doors already in her career. “I knew I had a calf that I could be fast on,” she said of her run in Odessa. “I had a calf that had already be run once, so I was getting the second run on him. I knew I just needed to score the best I could and use him the best I could before he got away from me. “I actually placed at Odessa last year. I won $162, splitting 14th

74 WPRA NEWS MARCH 2023

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