RANK ROPING Boisjoli Banks Over $10,000 in San Antonio By Ted Harbin T he AT&T Center near downtown San Antonio was abuzz during the Feb. 25 championship round of the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. The crowd could feel it. The competitors could feel it.
When it came time for the WPRA breakaway ropers to battle for the championship, the energy had been building and was reaching a crescendo. Shelby Boisjoli and Joey Williams felt it as much as anyone, and they posted identical 1.7-second runs to win $5,500 each. When the dust settled, Boisjoli earned her first San Antonio title with the most money won, $10,583 over the final few days of the 18- day rodeo. “It was insane,” said Boisjoli, originally from Langdon, Alberta, but now living in Stephenville, Texas. “We were sitting there watching the saddle bronc riding. It was so incredible to watch. We got to feel all the energy, and then the breakaway ropers just fed off that energy. “The breakaway roping that day was one of the toughest I’ve ever been at.” She should know. She’s a three-time qualifier to the National Finals Breakaway Roping and the 2021 reserve world champion. With her win in the Alamo City, she also became the second member of her family to earn the San Antonio crown; she joined cousin Jake Watson, a saddle bronc rider from Hudson Hope, British Columbia, who won in 2016, the first of two seasons in which he qualified for the National Finals Rodeo. “It was a little bit weird for me; I don’t consider myself a one-second roper,” she said. “I was just taking my best shot, and when I looked up, I was under two seconds. She was actually under two seconds in three of the five runs she made. Competing in the fifth and last bracket of the tournament-style format, she won the opening round in 1.8 seconds. She was 2.4 to finish as the runner-up in Round 2 and led all ladies out of that set into the semifinals with $2,250 earned. Boisjoli won her semifinal in 1.9 seconds to earn a spot on the final day.
she’s busy planning for her wedding. She and Haven Meged, the 2019 world champion tie-down roper, have set their nuptials for May 13, so that just adds to the to-do list in an already hectic life. Of course, some of that is re-engineering herself for whatever challenges she faces, which came up during her time in San Antonio. “Usually when the calves are stepping to the right, it’s harder for me,” Boisjoli said. “It’s unnatural to put your swing to your right, and it’s hard for me because my mare is always in her left lead. When I drew that calf that went right, I knew it was one of my weaknesses. I had to tell myself that if there’s a time for my practice to pay off, this was it.” Boisjoli is one of the greatest breakaway ropers of this generation, and a big part of that is the work she continues to put in as she builds toward the future. After all, that’s what champions do. Shelby Boisjoli overcame one of her weaknesses of roping calves that go to the right and she did so to the tune of $10,583 won in San Antonio. In the final round, she stopped the clock in 1.7 seconds to tie with Joey Williams for the win but once all the calculations were made she had won more money during the bracketed series than Williams and was crowned the 2023 San Antonio Champion. Photos by Hailey Rae
Of course, Team Boisjoli was a big part of the success, including No Wimpy Turns, an 8-year-old sorrel mare she calls Onna, the 2021 WPRA Breakaway Roping Horse of the Year. “Every year I’ve rodeoed, she’s been my No. 1 horse,” Boisjoli said. “She’s just really honest and really easy. She pretty much does her job every time and gives me a good chance.” That’s all a lady can ask for in the competitive world of breakaway roping. It’s a busy life for the Canadian now living in Texas. When she’s not competing, she’s probably practicing or working horses in some regard. If she’s doing neither, then
Shelby Boisjoli rode her 8-year-old sorrel mare No Wimpy Turns “Onna” to the San Antonion breakaway roping title. Photo by Hailey Rae
24 WPRA NEWS APRIL 2023
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