SOUTHEASTERN CIRCUIT: BREAKAWAY
Inaugural Champ McLaughlin Wins Southeastern Circuit Finals Breakaway in First Year Contested
By Ted Harbin T he Southeastern Circuit opened the door for breakaway in 2022, and Heather McLaughlin walked through in resounding fashion. McLaughlin earned her way into the field of the Southeastern Circuit Finals in early November, then walked away with both the average and year-end championships thanks to her showing at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie, Florida. “It was pretty cool, since it was the first time the Southeastern Circuit Finals had breakaway roping,” said McLaughlin of Bunnell, Florida. “We were pretty excited about it. It’s pretty cool that I was the first one to win it and to be the first one to win the average. It’ll be something I’ll always remember.” Now a senior at the University of West Alabama, she is a two-time qualifier to the College National Finals Rodeo – she also earned a spot her freshman year, but the intercollegiate championship was cancelled in 2020 because of COVID. She’s hoping for a third straight trip this next June; if that were to happen, she plans to make a working road trip happen by hitting several rodeos before and after, including the national circuit finals rodeo, the NFR Open, for which she’s now qualified. “This year I’m going to finish college, and I want to start going next year,” she said. “It’s been the plan, especially now that I’ve got a spot at the NFR Open. I plan to be out there in Casper, so I’ll just make a run of it. “I love college rodeo. It gives you a chance to college rodeo and ProRodeo, and you earn an education.” The training she’s received paid off very well in south Florida. She won the first and third go-rounds, then was the runner-up in Round 2 to win the average. In all, she pocketed $5,374, which moved her to 13th in the ProRodeo breakaway world standings. “I think it came down to my mindset,” McLaughlin said. “I try to keep a really calm
head and act like it’s kind of a job. I don’t put pressure on it. I practice a lot at it, so I try to make it like every other run. I also think some of it was my horsepower and the mare I trained. We get along together really good. “I also have my family and everyone that helped me get there. I give a lot of thanks to them, because I couldn’t do this by myself.” The horsepower belongs to a 6-year-old sorrel that McLaughlin calls Marie and has had for two years. The mare definitely has great instincts with a cow. “She had a few months of cutting training on her, and she had been used in a feedlot,” she said. “A friend and I drove 15 hours one way to Schulenburg, Texas, overnight to pick her up. There was just something about her. She tried to crow hop on me a little when I first got on her, but there was something I felt about her that I thought would work.” It did, and in her first year of hauling Marie, she added those circuit titles to her resume. “I didn’t think I had a chance to win the year-end,” McLaughlin said. “There are a lot of girls that rope really well in our circuit, plus I came to the finals in the middle of the pack. My goal was to win the average, because I thought that was my only chance to make the NFR Open. “After the first round, I realized there was a very slim possibility I could win the year-end. After the second round, I realized it was very possible I could win the year-end. It came down to my third run, so I made sure to do what I’d been doing. It was pretty cool tallying the money afterwards and realizing I’d won it. That circuit finals was a game- changer.” So was Marie. The victory in Davie puts McLaughlin in position to do some fun things during the 2023 season, and she has the kind of horse to make it happen. “I love that horse,” she said. “She’s done a lot for me in the short time I’ve had her.”
Heather McLaughlin placed in all three rounds at the Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo to win the average in a time of 7.5 seconds. Her closest competitor was Leann Thomas in 11.9
McLaughlin dominated the Southeastern Circuit winning both the average and year-end title in the first year the circuit has featured breakaway roping at the circuit finals. McLaughlin will be looking to be the first Southeastern Circuit roper to also capture the NFR Open title come July in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She will be joined by Shelby Osceola, who finished second in the year-end standings, in representing the circuit at the 2023 NFR Open. Photo by Mike Rastelli
DECCEMBER 2022
WOMEN’S PRO RODEO NEWS 31
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