CIRCUIT FINALS: SOUTHEASTERN BREAKAWAY ROPING CLEAN SWEEP Johnson Wins Year-End and Average Breakaway Titles in Southeastern Circuit By Kristen M. White L aramie Johnson had a “fairy tale season” in the circuit system when she won not only the year-end title in the Southeastern Circuit, but the average title at the circuit finals too. And, she did the last part aboard a borrowed horse. It was quite a season. “It was cool to win the average. Anytime you can win the average title somewhere it’s really cool,” Johnson said. “So, to win both, that’s one of those things you don’t get to do. It’s certainly not a guarantee every year, so to win two rounds, the year-end and the average, you might spend years trying to come half as close!”
At the Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo, Johnson won the average in 8.6 seconds on three head. That happened after she won the first round in 2.2 seconds and the final round in 2.8 seconds. She was already leading the year-end standings, so after winning the first round, she was that much further ahead, and she knew she could breathe a little easier and hold off her competitors for the victory. And the borrowed horse? She lost her horse at the beginning of November, just a week and a half before the circuit finals, to a rare strangulation of the small intestine. “I had just a few days to figure out who could lend me a horse,” Johnson said. “I didn’t feel comfortable to just find a random horse, and Josey Murphy offered me a horse. She made the circuit finals too and was roping on her other horse. She bounces back and forth and was willing to let me use Chex.” Johnson of Shreveport, Louisiana, put herself into the driver’s seat for the circuit season title by hitting a big string of rodeos in Florida in just a couple of weeks. She bumped up her rodeo count and placed in or won several of those rodeos.
Then, she went to Texas and ran at several rodeos there - she had no idea at the time that those rodeos were co-approved for the Southeastern Circuit. She won two and placed in some others, improving her place in the standings even more. “That was a pleasant surprise!” she said with a laugh about the co-approval. Johnson said she’s excited for a chance to compete at the NFR Open, noting that it’s a great opportunity for circuit competitors, giving cowgirls like her something else to shoot for. “I’m not a big ‘I want to do this and this’ type of
person, but this year I had made up my mind that I wanted to do it (aim for the circuit finals),” she said. “That’s why I made the commitment to go to Florida and get those rodeos in. “For the 2024 season, I know I’ll be getting in my circuit rodeos again for sure and let that play out. It doesn’t really intrigue me right now to be gone all summer, so we’ll see. I’d love to see breakaway roping at the Thomas and Mack for the Finals in the future, and maybe then I’ll be more interested in being gone all summer.” Laramie Johnson earned a trip to the NFR Open in July winning both the year-end and average titles in the Southeastern Circuit. Johnson is hoping a win in July could propel her to a trip to Las Vegas in December for the National Finals Breakaway Roping. Photo by Mike Rastelli
Like Chloe Gray in the barrel racing, Laramie Johnson (middle) swept both year-end and average titles in the breakaway roping in the Southeastern Circuit. Photo by Mike Rastelli
FEBRUARY 2024
WPRA NEWS 29
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting