Crawford wins three world titles, matching record 17 for career

jackie-crawford-feature — Jackie Crawford celebrates her latest round of WPRA world titles, giving her 17 for her career to match the record held by Stephenville's JJ Hampton. || Courtesy Jackie Crawford Facebook page

By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (October 4, 2016) — Jackie Crawford of Huckabay has joined JJ Hampton of Stephenville as the most decorated cowgirls in the history of professional rodeo.

Crawford captured 2016 world titles in breakaway roping and team roping heading while also capturing the All-Around title following the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association Finals in Waco last weekend, giving her 17 career titles, the same number won by Hampton.

“I’ve looked up to JJ forever, and obviously she’s the best and has held a ton of world titles,” said Crawford in a phone interview Monday from the United States Team Roping Championship finals in Oklahoma City, the next major competition on her list. “Being in the company of someone like JJ has been a milestone goal of mine for a long time now, and to even be compared to a roper like her is such a great honor.

“It’s just awesome to see it all come together at the finals the way it did,” Crawford added. “That feeling that comes over you to know you’re so blessed is just truly indescribable.”

Crawford and her famed horse, T-Boy, also claimed an aggregate title at the finals by dominating tie-down roping, winning three of four rounds and placing third in the other. She roped and tied four head in 46.7 seconds, and earned a total of $2,135.91.

“Until the finals I hadn’t run a fast calf on T-Boy in a year,” Crawford said. “All I did on T-Boy is rope a dummy and get him physically ready. He’s just so solid and we know each other so well, and he was just working phenomenal out there.”

In team roping, crawford won the average as a header with heeler Jessica Remsburg and was third in the average as a heeler with header Kelsie Chace. Crawford won $2,898.08 and $2,717.84 heeling.

In breakaway roping, Crawford was fourth in the average at the finals, winning a total of $1,410.24 by roping four head in 11 seconds.

In all, Crawford won $9,162.07 at the world finals, and also took home three Tao Tao Scooters, one for each of her world titles.

Following the USTRC event, Crawford will be taking some time off, and her excuse for such is golden.

“I’ll be taking a little bit of time off, because I don’t know how many people know, but I’m three months pregnant,” revealed Crawford, whose husband, Charly Crawford has been the PRCA World Finals as a team roper and now compete with the new Elite Rodeo Athletes. “So growing our family is on the books right now.”

But when she returns to the arena, there are certainly still goals in mind, and not just collecting an 18th world title to stand alone at the top of the women’s rodeo world.

“I’ve always said I wanted to win a world title in every (roping) event, and the heeling title keeps eluding me,” Crawford said. “We’ll have to see if I can get that one, too.”