CIRCUIT FINALS: TEXAS BREAKAWAY ROPING WORLD CLASS DUO Angelone, Crawford to Represent Texas at NFR Open By Ann Bleiker O n paper, the Texas Circuit is sending the two most accomplished breakaway ropers in the field for the 2024 NFR Open. Rodeo titles are not won on paper, however, so it will be anyone’s game come July in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Representing the Lone Star State will be 2022 WPRA World Champion Martha Angelone and WPRA World Champion Jackie Crawford, who owns 23 titles, three of which are in breakaway roping. Both live in the Cowboy Capital of the World in Stephenville. Angelone punched her ticket to the NFR Open by winning the year-end title; Crawford snagged the average title at the Texas Circuit Finals. “I definitely didn’t even have close to the circuit finals I wanted to,” stated Angelone on her Facebook page. “It’s honestly the worst circuit finals I’ve ever had, but I did end up winning the first round with a 2.3. “I ended up winning my fourth consecutive Texas Circuit Breakaway Championship title and get to go back to Colorado Springs with Jackie Crawford in 2024. I couldn’t be more pumped! Thank you to all my sponsors for everything they do for my team and I. Blessed to have had the year I had this year and the horses I got to ride all year!” Angelone rode her 14-year-old gelding, Spots Lil Legend, in Waco during the Texas Circuit Finals. She said Legend was much faster than the calves they ran, and she didn’t make the right adjustments to perform better during the four rounds at Extraco Event Center. While this is her fourth Texas Circuit year-end title, it will be her third trip to the NFR Open; breakaway was not added to the list of events until the 2022 edition. That was the year that Angelone won the title in Olympic City, USA, and was a key win to her eventual world title. While she couldn’t defend her NFR Open title or world title in 2023,
one can bet that will only make her hungrier for the 2024 season. She will be all business when she shows up at the Norris Penrose Equestrian Center ready to battle it out with Crawford and the other ladies from the 12 other circuits. Crawford has yet to add an NFR Open appearance to her resume, but that will change in 2024 after she secured the average title in a highly contested circuit finals. She did so aboard her palomino mare Hail Mary, who has been an up-and-coming horse for the world champ. “I had a pretty amazing week in Waco at the Texas ProRodeo Circuit,” Crawford wrote on social media. “Placed in every round and won the average. Not only does that give us a great start to the 2024 season, it qualifies us for Colorado Springs NFR Open, which is huge! Hail Mary is getting all the calls right now and she is doing pretty dang good in my opinion!” While Crawford didn’t win a round at the finale, her consistency landed the cowgirl in the winner’s circle. She was second behind Angelone in the first round in a time of 2.4 seconds, then was second behind Hali Williams again in a time of 2.4 seconds. She finished third in the third round in a time of 2.6 seconds behind Taylor Hanchey and Tacy Webb. Hanchey earned the fourth-round win, with Crawford finishing fourth in a time of 3.4 seconds. Crawford was the only one to turn in four clean runs, winning a cumulative time of 10.8 seconds, while Josie Conner was second in a time of 21.5. While Martha Angelone might not have had the circuit finals she had hoped for, she did enough to hold onto the year-end title in the Texas Circuit Finals to earn another trip to the NFR Open. In 2022, Angelone captured the title at the NFR Open helping to propel her to her first WPRA World Title. She is hoping to recreate that magic again in 2024. Photo by Rodeobum.com (James Phifer)
Jackie Crawford will join Martha Angelone in representing the Texas Circuit at the NFR Open this summer. Crawford captured the average title aboard her palomino mare Hail Mary. Photo by Rodeobum.com (James Phifer)
24 WPRA NEWS FEBRUARY 2024
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