CIRCUIT FINALS: FIRST FRONTIER BREAKAWAY ROPING COWGIRL GRIT, NEVER QUIT First Frontier Circuit Breakaway Roper Paige Pursel Talks About Trials and Triumphs By Brittany Gunn F or Paige Pursel of Danville, Pa., winning the average breakaway champion title in 10.9
seconds on three head not only meant a trip to the NFR Open, but meant the world when she shared the success with her 83-year-old “Pap,” Bill Pursel – a man who inspired her to rodeo. “I was born into rodeo,” Pursel explained. “My grandfather was a calf roper and has trained calf roping horses his whole life.” Pursel began her rodeo career in youth rodeo, and later competed in high school and college rodeo. In 2015, Pursel began her career with the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. In 2020, Pursel was in need of another horse after retiring her 24-year-old mare named Miss Super Wolf, a.k.a. Wolfy. She then acquired a now 16-year-
Paige Pursel ropes her way to the top of the average leaderboard finishing with a total time of 10.9 seconds on three head to win the First Frontier Circuit Finals. As a result, she punched her ticket to the NFR Open and a shot at a share of the $1 million payout. Photo by Casey Martin
roping on him again, and finally started competing in 2023 by attending a few pro-rodeos and amateur rodeos. “Going into this year, my main goal was to qualify for circuit finals and the NFR Open. I just wanted to hit my count for the year, so I wasn’t too focused on where I was sitting, she said. “I placed well in round one and in rounds two and three, I drew some really hard to catch calves – they were not easy, but I got them caught.” When asked about the kind of rope she uses, she explained she had been a lifetime fan of the King poly three-strand rope but now uses a pink caddy five-strand nylon rope from Lone Star when roping on Woodrow. “I’ve used King ropes my entire life, but with my horse, I can speed up my tip a little better with the nylon ropes,” she said. Pursel, alongside year-end champion Jessie Letzelter, will be representing the breakaway ropers from the First Frontier Circuit at the NFR Open In closing she said, “Breakaway roping is not one of those things you can go buy a faster horse and win. It’s a skill you have to work on and it’s a blade you have to keep sharp.”
old Quarter Horse palomino gelding named Ducelena Sam, a.k.a. Woodrow, from her grandfather. She noted the pair has come leaps and bounds since the beginning of their rodeo journey. “It was really hard to come off a horse you can win on and go find something else that makes you feel like you can be a winner,” she said. “It took a really long time for us to click. Woodrow has a long-stride and runs really hard. It takes him half a stride extra to stop compared to the mare I retired.” In 2020, after moving to Stephenville, Texas, Woodrow sustained an injury that sidelined the team for about a year. Shortly after coming back from the injury, the pair qualified to compete in several American Contender Tournament Qualifying Events, and made it to the American Semi-Finals, but was just short of competing in the Finals when she placed one spot out of the top 30. “It was a satisfying feeling making it up to that point, but was also heartbreaking,” she said. “After that we had a few great runs and then he got hurt again.” Due to injury, Pursel returned to Pennsylvania. In 2022, she started
FEBRUARY 2024
WPRA NEWS 13
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