PRAIRIE CIRCUIT: BREAKAWAY
Squeaked In Hayes Ropes Average Title in Prairie Circuit, Punches Ticket to NFR Open
By Ted Harbin K eAnn Hayes grew up in the small town of State Center, Iowa, a community of less than 2,000 people. In rodeo, it’s best known as the home of Jacob Edler, the 2020 world champion steer wrestler. Hayes and Edler grew up together, graduated high school together and even started their intercollegiate rodeo careers at the same small college. Their families are close. The two now live in separate towns in Oklahoma and are part of the Prairie Circuit. To bring their lives full circle, both won the average championships at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo at Duncan, Oklahoma, in mid-October. For Hayes, a breakaway roper, it was a spectacular way to end her circuit season. She placed in two go-rounds and finished with a three- run cumulative time of 7.9 seconds to win the aggregate. She pocketed $4,224. “It’s actually pretty surreal,” said Hayes, now living in Blanchard, Oklahoma. “I didn’t plan on entering the finals, but one of the girls didn’t get her rodeo count, and I was able to sneak in.” With the big opportunity in front of her, she leaned on her equine partner, a 9-year-old mare she calls Patrón, to win the average title and secure her bid for the national circuit finals rodeo, now called the NFR Open and scheduled for Colorado Springs, Colorado, in July. “My only chance was to win the average,” she said. “I wanted to make the Open and go to Colorado, so I came in here and planned to
win the average.” The plan went as scheduled. She won the first go-round, stopping the clock in 2.4 seconds. It was the only time a cowgirl not named Taylor Munsell won a round, and it was a financial advantage that provided a spark of confidence in herself and in Patrón. “It’s taken a lot for that horse to come this far,” said Hayes, who acquired Patrón when the mare was an unbroke 2-year-old. “She’s played a big role in this, and she’s working great right now. We don’t have calves at our house right now, so I worked on my mental game a lot and roped the dummy with purpose. “I’ve had a lot of help along the way, but I’ve put all the work on her. She’s been a work in progress, but she’s really coming around.” That bodes well for Hayes’ future and the next phase of roping in the circuit. Munsell, now a two-time National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier and the 2019 intercollegiate champion, has had a stable full of good horses, something that comes with being raised by a rodeo family in western Oklahoma. That includes Ray, a 15-year-old gelding, which she used to win two go-rounds in Duncan: Munsell stopped the clock in 2.1 seconds to win on the Night 2, then posted a 2.0 to win the third go-round. Those happened after a no-time on opening night. It all came together after that, and she finished third in the average race. Like Hayes, she earned $4,224 over three days in southern Oklahoma. KeAnn Hayes is looking to make a name for herself in the WPRA Breakaway Roping ranks and she took a big step winning the average title at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in Duncan, Oklahoma in mid- October. With the win Hayes will now get a chance to compete at the lucrative NFR Open in July in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A big payday there could put her on the trajectory to qualify for her first National Finals Breakaway Roping. Photo by Fly Thomas
Taylor Munsell used the Prairie Circuit Finals as a good warm-up for the 2022 Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping and in so doing also punched her ticket to the NFR Open. July will mark the second year breakaway roping has been a featured event at the NFR Open and Munsell will be there representing the Prairie Circuit as the year-end champion. Photo by Fly Thomas
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DECCEMBER 2022
WOMEN’S PRO RODEO NEWS 13
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