CIRCUIT FINALS: PRAIRIE BREAKAWAY ROPING HEAD OF THE CLASS Braudrick Bests the Field in Prairie Circuit to Punch Ticket to NFR Open By Ted Harbin
I t was no surprise to anybody at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo that Christi Braudrick won the average title during the championship this past October in Duncan, Oklahoma. She’d done it two years prior and, just like she will do this summer, qualified for the national circuit finals rodeo, now called the NFR Open and set for Colorado Springs in July. “This was much more of a pressure situation that I was in compared to a couple of years ago,” said Braudrick, the WPRA’s breakaway roping director and the rodeo coach at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant. “I was glad that I was in that type of situation and still able to capitalize on it. I haven’t been in a lot of those situations in a lot of years due to the fact that I didn’t compete for so long. “I felt like I finally had overcome all that; it was very hard coming back to breakaway roping after all that time because it had sped up so much since I’d quit. It’s almost like I had to adapt to how roping is today.” She proved during the three days of competition in Duncan, which has hosted the regional finale since 2012, that she definitely still a threat. Braudrick won the second go-round, then placed again on the final night of the season. By winning the average and having other things happen that worked out for her, the roping rodeo coach also secured the year-end championship. Every experience helps her as she coaches, recruits and looks to make things better for her fellow WPRA breakaway ropers. It’s sometimes a juggling act, but being a cowgirl means managing all the things she can. Of course, a lot of that comes from taking time away from the game while raising children. “It played out the best of both worlds for me because I got to be with
my kids doing every single thing they did, whether it was showing animals, playing sports or rodeoing,” said Braudrick of Caddo, Oklahoma, a tiny community 15 minutes northeast of the Southeastern campus. “My husband, Kyle, is my biggest supporter, and I could have never come back to this without him pushing me.” Whatever push she received has been reciprocated. In all, she earned $5,909 at the circuit finals, which has propelled her toward the top of the world standings. As of Jan. 12, she was fourth on the money list with $8,770. In her role as the director, Braudrick was in Las Vegas for the National Finals Breakaway Roping. While there, she gained not only more insight about the game at its highest level, but she also realized how much she cares about the sport. She wants to see it continue to grow and to be on a more equal playing field in just a few years. While that’s not yet the case across the nation, it was at the circuit finals in 2023. That wasn’t the case when she won the average in 2021, where she earned almost a third less. The one constant: Mighty Mouse, an 8-year-old black mare that took her to both titles. “She is super special, and part of that was because when I got her, she wasn’t finished, so I was able to finish her,” Braudrick said. “She doesn’t do anything to not allow me to win. If I don’t win, it’s usually all on me.” Christi Braudrick is one busy lady but she has learned how to juggle many things including landing atop the Prairie Circuit winning not only the year- end title but also the average title. Braudrick is not only a top breakaway roper but she is the college rodeo coach at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant and she serves at one of two roping directors on the WPRA Board of Directors. Photo by Kay Miller
Christi Braudrick is heading back to the NFR Open in July after winning both the year-end and average title in the Prairie Circuit. She will be joined by Taylor Munsell in representing the Prairie Circuit. Photo by Kay Miller
42 WPRA NEWS FEBRUARY 2024
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