ARLINGTON, Texas – Stephenville’s Martha Angelone has her first world championship in sight.
The cowgirl made that a reality with a strong second day at the inaugural Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping at Globe Life Field, Dec. 9.
Angelone split the win in Round 7 (2.20 seconds) and won Round 8 outright with a 1.9-second run.
Angelone’s performance boosted her to third in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $31,314. Cassie Latham leads the world standings with $33,039, followed by Jackie Crawford ($32,860). Jordan Fabrizio is fourth at $27,473.
“The first day I wasn’t nervous at all, I was just pumped,” said Angelone, 25. “The first round today, I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous. I knew I started off good (Tuesday) and I was hoping just to come out here and catch all four of my calves. I feel like if you catch all your catches clean without a barrier you should be in good shape.”
Angelone has caught all eight calves in 20.4 seconds – the quickest of the 15 contestants. She has earned an event-best $15,397.
The Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping is being livestreamed by Wranglernetwork.com. The NFBR final performance is at 10 a.m. (CT), Dec. 10 at Globe Life Field – the same arena used for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Cowgirls are competing for a record-setting $200,000 purse at this three-day event.
On Dec. 10, Rounds 9 and 10 will be run, followed by the top eight. The top four will advance to a sudden-death round to crown a world champion.
“Since we are in Texas this year, I’m going to go home (to Stephenville, 90 minutes from Arlington) and practice a little bit on some of my other horses at the house and hang out with my family, relax and get ready for (Thursday).
“If I could win a world championship it would be an indescribable feeling in my life. I have never been able to win something that big before in my life. If I end up being the world champ I’m probably going to cry. This opportunity is awesome how the PRCA has put this out there for us. We don’t even know how to react right now. Most of us are just having fun.”
Angelone is riding Simba.
“I was real nervous coming into this, thinking he was going to be nervous, but he stepped up,” Angelone said.
Fabrizio, who has earned $13,096 at this historic event, also had a solid second day. She placed fifth in Round 5 (2.4 seconds), sixth in Round 7 (2.6 seconds) and second in Round 8 (2.3 seconds).
“The field of competition we are in is so stinking tough, so I’m just honored to be here and give all the glory to God,” said Fabrizio, who turns 30, Dec. 10. “Just being in this atmosphere is great. I’m just trying to do my job and get one down at a time.”
Competing under the bright lights of Globe Life Field has been a thrill for Fabrizio.
“Wow,” she said. “I don’t know if there are words for it honestly. This is the biggest stage yet professionally that we have been able to compete on, and it feels like every time we get to ride in here, it is just a dream come true. I’m just thankful to the PRCA and the WPRA for letting us be here and giving us the chance, and I hope we show up out and show out.”
Other round winners were Amanda Coleman (2.0 seconds, Round 5), Anna Bahe (1.7 seconds, Round 6), Macy Fuller and Bahe (split Round 7 with Angelone).
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