2023 WRANGLER NFBR ROUND BY ROUND By Ann Bleiker, Photos by Rodeobum.com (James Phifer) MUNSELL MAKES STATEMENT IN RD. 1
leaderboard. Munsell edged Bradi Good, Joey Williams and Sarah Angelone who each stopped the clock in 2.1 seconds. Good and Sarah Angelone are making their first appearance at the NFBR, while Williams is competing in her third. Shelby Boisjoli-Meged After sharing the spotlight in the second round, No. 2 ranked Hali Williams stood alone as the outright winner during the fourth round. Williams, competing in her first Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping, stopped the clock in 1.9-seconds, the fastest run on opening day in Las Vegas.
Taylor Munsell left Las Vegas in 2022 as the reserve world champion after placing in seven out of ten rounds including wins in Rd. 1 (2.3 seconds), Rd. 6 (2.1 seconds) and Rd. 10 (2.2 seconds). Fast forward to 2023 and Munsell found her way back to the winner’s circle during the first round of
finished with a no time, while Hali Williams finished in 2.6 seconds but was out of the money tying for eighth with Cheyanne McCartney. WILLIAMS STANDS ALONE IN WINNER’S CIRCLE IN FOURTH ROUND
the Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka. This year she stopped the clock in 2.0 seconds. She bested the reigning world champion Martha Angelone, and No. 1 ranked roper for 2023 Shelby Boisjoli-Meged who stopped the clock in 2.3 seconds. Since March either Hali Williams or Boisjoli-Meged was ranked No. 1 in the world standings. Coming into the finals Boisjoli-Meged took control of the top spot with a win at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D., the final weekend of the regular season. Competing at her first NFBR Williams ended with a no time on her first calf. LOGJAM ATOP LEADERBOARD IN THE SECOND ROUND
It was a crowded winner’s circle during the second round at the Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka with three ladies stopping the clock in 2.1 seconds. After a no time in the first round Hali Williams, the daughter of eight-time
“That 1.9 run was as fast as I’ve thrown in a couple of months,” noted Williams, who has had to be off her horse giving her Achilles tendon time to heal. “I was just glad I held on, but if you watch it back, I got my knee bent and couldn’t put any weight on that right foot, and I was slowly sliding off.” Another bonus of being fast was staying in the saddle for Williams riding her standout sorrel gelding Stylish Red Light “Red Light.” She added $5,080 to her 2023 standings but No. 1 ranked roper Shelby Boisjoli-Meged was right on her heels finishing in a tie for second in a time of 2.1 seconds to add $3,329. Also finishing second in the round was Sarah Angelone and Kelsie Domer. BOISJOLI-MEGED FINISHES FIRST DAY ATOP LEADERBOARD IN FIFTH ROUND
PRCA World Champion and ProRodeo Hall of Fame team roper Speed Williams, got back on track to share the win with Shelby Boisjoli- Meged and Cheyanne McCartney. Williams of Comanche, Texas, captured the RodeoHouston title in March and had a strangle hold on the top spot until late in the season but an injury in October almost cost her a chance to rope at all at the Finals. While unloading her horse at home a freak accident resulted in a tear in her Achilles tendon and other foot injuries. She credited her doctors and Justin Sportsmedicine chiropractor Shawn Scott with giving her the chance to chase the WPRA world championship. “Right now, I’m super emotional,” said Williams, as tears fell in the winner’s circle while Boisjoli-Meged was there encouraging her to keep her head up. “We didn’t know if we were going to be here this week. There for a little bit, I couldn’t walk; I couldn’t do anything with all this extreme pain.” MUNSELL STRIKES AGAIN IN THIRD ROUND Taylor Munsell made her second victory lap around the South Point Equestrian Center and Arena, home to the Wrangler NFBR for the second consecutive year, during the first day of competition. A second 2.0-second run on the day took the Alva, Oklahoma, cowgirl back to the winner’s circle. She finished out of the money in the second round with a 3.1 second run landing her ninth on the
It was a fast and furious first five rounds on opening day at the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka at the South Point Equestrian Center and Arena in Las Vegas. Coming into this year’s finals Shelby Boisjoli-Meged
was in the driver’s seat for her first world title and that fact didn’t change through the first five rounds. She took her second victory lap of the day during the fifth round, stopping the clock in a time of 2.0 seconds. The Alberta-born cowgirl now living in Stephenville, Texas, had a single hiccup – a no-time in Round 3 – but otherwise was dominant in placing on the four calves she caught on the first of two days of world championship competition. She shared the second-round victory with
18 WPRA NEWS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
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