CIRCUIT FINALS: BADLANDS BREAKAWAY ROPING FAMILY AFFAIR Howell Carries on Family Tradition, Qualifies for NFR
Open By Allie Bohus
I f you had asked Badlands Circuit Finals member Brooke Howell in May of 2023 what she thought her WPRA regular season would look like, she probably would have been pretty unsure. Howell had sold her good horse and although she had several horses in training, she had zero seasoned rodeo horses. One of the horses that quickly rose to the top of her roster was an 8-year-old buckskin mare, Rockys Casino Dixie, “Dixie.” Owners Lisa and Gus Garnhart sent the mare to Howell with hopes she would take her, season her, and haul her so she could be something for their kids to ride. Howell started pen roping on her and alternated arena work and outside work, “she just progressed unreal. She hadn’t been roped on, so I just kind of put the heat on her. I took her and doctored yearlings on her… It was kind of perfect to go do an outside job and then bring her back to the arena,” Howell said. Then on June 1 Howell took Dixie to her first rodeo and the next four months were history! Howell won the year-end championship at the Badlands Circuit Finals, finishing the year with $13,671 won in the circuit.
The former two-time College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) qualifier was pretty excited about her big win and for qualifying for the NFR Open for the first time. Winning the year- end was even sweeter because she competed alongside her dad, Guy Howell, and fiancé, Riley Curuchet who qualified in the team roping together. “Both times I have made it to the Badlands Circuit Finals, my dad has also made it to make it a family affair,” stated Howell. “I’m honestly more comfortable when my dad is there. He’s always pushing my calves and been able to visit with me about the start. It means a lot he’s still healthy enough that he’s able to rodeo alongside us girls.”
WPRA World Standings. It was Shayla who talked Howell into taking Dixie over the Fourth of July run. Howell didn’t feel the confidence at that point, but Shayla encouraged her to go. “She let me borrow my good mare [“Queen”] back and she helped “It had rained so we weren’t able to practice much, so the day before I went, I practiced on her and that horse stepped up to what I asked her to do,” recalled Howell. “It was nuts, the first rodeo we went to was Mandan [ND]. I was 2.5 [and ended up splitting 5th]. It didn’t feel like I did anything crazy fast but it started my momentum. I was 2.3 in Belle Fourche [SD]. I missed a good one in Killdeer [ND], but Dixie just kept proving to me that she was ready. “She had a few green mistakes, but it just kept going on and on and really everywhere I went my goal was to be on the barrier and catch my calf. They don’t only pay first place.” me get my first money won,” Brooke said. After that run, Howell got back on Dixie. Howell is super excited about qualifying for the NFR Open. Growing up, it was a family vacation to travel to the national circuit finals when her dad qualified, so Howell is very much looking forward to being the qualifier in the family this time! 2021 World Champion Sawyer Gilbert (second from left) and Brooke Howell (third from left) will represent the Badlands Circuit at this summer’s NFR Open in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Gilbert won the average title while Howell captured the year-end title. Photo by Alaina Stangle
2023 Badlands Circuit Year-End Champion Brooke Howell, Photo by Alaina Stangle
Rodeo has been in her bloodlines since she can remember. She is the second oldest of four girls and both of her parents rodeoed. Her dad has been a PRCA member since 1991 and has competed at the Badlands, Mountain States, and Montana Circuit Finals. Her mom, Shanna (Newland) Howell college rodeoed and was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 1991 women’s national championship rodeo team. Although all of Howell’s sisters rodeo, she competes the most with her sister Shayla (Howell) Hall who ended up in the top 30 of the 2023
FEBRUARY 2024
WPRA NEWS 41
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting