Hali Williams and Cheyanne McCartney. Winning the fifth round put an exclamation mark on her day. “It wasn’t exactly the way I wanted it to go, because I wanted to catch 10 calves here, but I’m definitely not complaining,” said Boisjoli- Meged, who earned $16,379 Tuesday and pushed her season earnings to nearly $181,000 with the final five go-rounds of the year ahead of her Wednesday. “I’m super excited to get into tomorrow. I’m actually very proud of myself that I was able to stay level-headed this year, and I came back after missing a calf and was able to stay after them and not get down.” SARAH ANGELONE WINS SIXTH ROUND WITH A 1.9 Things got mighty
Lowman put on a show for the fans, and they responded with the loudest cheers of the day when they all saw the scoreboard flash the time of 1.7 seconds. The only other contestant to match this time at the NFBR was in 2021 when Joey Williams stopped the clock in 1.7 seconds. Lowman edged reigning world champion Martha Angelone for the round win. Angelone stopped the clock in 1.9 seconds to collect a second-place check. Shelby Boisjoli-Meged finished seventh, just out of the money in the
fast on the second day of competition at the Wrangler NFBR with Sarah Angelone, sister of reigning world champion Martha Angelone, stopping the clock in 1.9 seconds. Much different than a year ago when Sarah was watching her older sister
eighth round, with a 2.2-second run. LOWMAN GOES BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Danielle Lowman was definitely in a groove on the second day of the Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping. When you are hot you are hot. Lowman stopped the clock in 1.7 seconds in back- to-back rounds, winning her third round on the day with all sub-2.0 second runs.
claim the 2022 Breakaway World title from the South Point Arena stands. It should be noted that Sarah has a WPRA world title on her resume as well winning the WPRA All-Around title in 2022. Sarah took her first of two victory laps on the day after edging veteran roper Erin Johnson of Fowler, Colorado, who stopped the clock in 2.1 seconds. Prior to the start of the second day of competition, word was spreading of an active shooter on the campus of UNLV and that the NFR contestants were in lockdown at the Thomas and Mack Center as they were preparing for grand entry rehearsal. No. 1 ranked roper Shelby Boisjoli-Meged had to remain focused on the task at hand although he was worried about her husband NFR tie-down roper Haven Meged at the Thomas and Mack. She would finish in a tie for third in the sixth round with Kelsie Domer and Bradi Good after stopping the clock in 2.2 seconds. THE D’LOW SHOW RALLIED THE CROWD IN THE SEVENTH ROUND
Lowman was doing so aboard her 8-year-old mare Ruf N Shine that she calls Shi’Biz. The duo was definitely basking in the limelight bringing the heat round after round on December 6 and they had the record crowd all on their feet showing appreciation for the roping they were witnessing. Josie Conner and Cheyanne McCartney tied for second in the round in a time of 2.1 seconds, while Shelby Boisjoli-Meged ended the ninth round with her second no time. BOOKEND WINS ON THE DAY FOR SARAH ANGELONE
Sarah Angelone took the first and last victory lap of the day to finish her 2023 season with a bang. She did so with a 1.7-second run to match the two fast times of 1.7 turned in by Danielle Lowman in the eighth and ninth rounds. Sarah Angelone added another $5,080 bringing
Not to be outdone with fast runs, Danielle Lowman, making her second NFBR appearance, stopped the clock in 1.9 seconds to win the seventh round – Lucky No. 7. Lowman is no stranger to the South Point Arena having qualified for the Indian National Finals
her grand total of NFBR earnings alone to $29,956, finishing second behind world champion Shelby Boisjoli-Meged’s NFBR earnings of $33,158. Boisjoli-Meged would finish second in the average standings with 27.6 seconds on eight runs and set a new WPRA Breakaway Roping all- time earnings record with just shy of $200,000 ending with $197,706. Cheyanne McCartney would be the only one in the field of 15 that would get a qualified time on nine head to win her first average title in a time of 32.2 seconds. She finished with $26,081 in NFBR earnings alone for the 10 rounds. Once again, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame awarded the Betty Gayle Cooper Fast Time Award. At the conclusion of the 10 rounds there was a tie between Danielle Lowman and Sarah Angelone with times of 1.7 seconds. The tiebreaker went to who finished higher in the average which gave Angelone the edge as she was third in the average in a time of 27.9 on nine, while Lowman was 12th in a time of 14.1 on six.
Rodeo five times, the home to their Finals. In 2022, she finished in the crying hole as the 16th ranked roper in the WPRA but entered the 2023 edition ranked No. 11. A proud representative of the Navajo Nation, she had the fans on their feet as she made her first NFBR victory lap. Shelby Boisjoli-Meged had a solid 2.5-second run to place fifth with three rounds left. In fact, that run and paycheck along with No. 2 ranked roper Hali Williams finishing the seventh round with a no time, mathematically assured Boisjoli-Meged of her first gold buckle. LOWMAN STRIKES AGAIN Danielle Lowman enjoyed her victory lap in the seventh round so much she decided to do it again in the eighth round. This time she turned up the heat to stop the clock in 1.7 seconds, the fastest of the 2023 edition of the Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping, thus far.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 WPRA NEWS 19
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