CIRCUIT FINALS: TURQUOISE BREAKAWAY ROPING BACK ON TOP Deerman Wins Turquoise Circuit, Set to Defend NFR Open Title By Ted Harbin I n just a few months, Maddy Deerman will graduate with a master’s degree in geo science from Texas Tech University. In the interim, she will test her talents at some of the biggest winter rodeos in the sport while also getting herself ready for a busy summer that will include finishing her thesis, closing out other studies and chasing her breakaway roping dreams. She’s got a lot going on.
“Last year was so much fun,” said Deerman, who won the 2022 Turquoise Circuit breakaway roping year-end championship and secured the aggregate title at the regional finale, then found more success by winning the NFR Open in Colorado Springs last summer; she advanced to the Cinch Playoffs and also won the title in Puyallup, Washington. “Rodeoing used to be a job for me, but when I was busy with school and my master’s and all the duties that came along with it, rodeo was like a breath of fresh air to me,” said Deerman. “Being able to go off to those places on weekends was literally like a vacation to me where I got to do what I love. It was just an added benefit that I was able to win money along with it.” She will return to the scene of the crime for which she is best known, the NFR Open, the newest rendition of the national circuit finals that takes place in July during the Pikes Peak or Bust Pro Rodeo. Deerman clinched the Turquoise Circuit title again this past season to earn her spot in the field, joining Kassidy Dennison as the representatives from the Arizona-New Mexico region. Though Dennison, a 2014 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo barrel
racer, won the average, Deerman collected the most money of all breakaway ropers; she pocketed $5,856 last November in Camp Verde, Arizona. “Winning the circuit was a huge blessing,” said Deerman of Hope, New Mexico, a tiny community of 110 souls in the southeastern corner of the state. “Last year I won the circuit without really knowing what it could do for me. I won a lot of money at the NFR Open. She also quickly realized how much the money affected her place in the world standings. Even though she competed at just 18 rodeos, Deerman finished the year with just shy of $50,000 in earnings, good enough for 21st on the money list. Had she continued winning at the remaining seven events to reach the minimum-required number of 25 rodeos, she may have been among the top 15 to compete at the Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping presented by Tito’s Vodka. “This year, since I’m going to be rodeoing, I have a goal of being at the breakaway finals,” she said. “I know how huge it’s going to be if I do win money at this year’s NFR Open and how it’ll impact my end of the year.” The key to her success falls in a comfort zone of trust in her horses and having the right frame of mind when it counts. “Since I’m graduating in May, I won’t have the things with school going on where I need to do my homework or work on papers,” Deerman said. “I’ll have a little more free time so I can focus on rodeo, but I’m really going to try to duplicate that mindset where rodeo was my breath of fresh air and that I’m blessed to do this. “Not everybody gets to do this, so I’m really going to try to keep that mentality going into the 2024 season where I’m able to rodeo the whole summer.” Maddy Deerman won the year-end title in the Turquoise Circuit to earn a trip back to the NFR Open in Colorado Springs, Colorado with a chance to defend her title from 2023. Deerman finished the year with $15,256 in circuit earnings. Photo by Bobby Rosales
Maddy Deerman will get a chance to defend her breakaway roping title at the NFR Open after winning the Turquoise Circuit. The win in 2023 was a game changer for the geo science graduate student at Texas Tech University. She is hoping for the same magic in 2024. Photo by Brian Gauck
FEBRUARY 2024
WPRA NEWS 21
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