The Breakdown

Four-time WPRA World Champion Hope Thompson joins The Breakaway Breakdown to talk about how life looks as she steps back from full-time rodeoing and steps into the futurity and training world and what it takes to build great rope horses from the ground up. Thompson talks through the wins that shaped her career, from the college finals to WPRA world titles and all-around championships, and how addi...

This week on The Breakdown, CalfRoping.com host Hannah Mann is joined by Blake Ramsey, the newest member of the Equine Network and Western Sports Group team and the new voice behind Breakaway Roping Journal coverage. Earlier this year, Calli Montague stepped in to lead breakaway coverage on an interim basis after previous host Lillian Kent moved to the Horse&Rider side of the Western Sports Gr...

Texas cowgirl Kayelen Helton joins The Breakaway Breakdown to talk about balancing a full-time career as a licensed professional counselor with life in the rodeo arena, while still competing at a high level in both breakaway and team roping. Helton talks growing up in Texas junior rodeo, competing through the amateur and college ranks at Tarleton State, and navigating the rapid evolution of modern...

This week on the Tie-Down Breakdown, Fast Back Ropes General Manager Coy Upchurch sits down with endorsee, breakaway roper and EQN Sports Host Amy Wilson for a conversation that covers just about everything a roper could want to know about the rope making business. Coy walks through his career from the tie room to the front office, breaks down how a Fast Back rope is made from raw materials all th...

On this episode of The Breakaway Breakdown, No.1 cowgirl in the world Jaci Hammons tells us her story, what the win meant to her, and her plan for the rest of the season. 2026 Resistol Rookie contender Hammons turned a week of 2-second runs into $25,319 and the biggest win of her young ProRodeo career, claiming the 2026 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo title with a 2.0-second run in the finals a...

The latest episode of The Breakaway Breakdown captures the story of Elijah Faske, the 12-year-old Texas cowboy who ropes legally blind, from his mom Suzanne’s perspective. When Elijah caught his calf at the January Texas Junior High Rodeo Association Region 7 rodeo in Edna, Texas, it was more than just a clean run for him and his family. The video of Elijah’s first catch later made rounds on socia...

This week on The Breakdown , Tie-Down Breakdown host Hannah Mann is joined by Calli Montague, the newest member of the Equine Network and Western Sports Group team. With previous Breakaway Breakdown host Lillian Kent transitioning into a role on the Horse and Rider side of the Western Sports Group, Calli will step in to help lead Breakaway Roping Journal coverage and interviews in the interim. Cal...

The newest episode of The Breakaway Breakdown is a two-for-one listen—NFBR average champion Rylee George, followed by 2025 WPRA Breakaway World Champion Taylor Munsell, both fresh off signature wins that defined their seasons. Host Lillian Kent opens with George’s NFBR average run: 29.0 seconds on 10 head, a new aggregate record, and more than $25,000 earned during the Finals. George breaks down h...

The latest episode of The Breakdown Podcast takes listeners inside the most talked-about finishes of the 2025 Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway, featuring on-the-ground interviews with all three event champions—Hali Williams, Josie Conner and Maddy Deerman. Conner and Williams elected to become co-champions after tying as the event’s highest money earners, each earning $115,000. Their candid, p...

From a ranch kid in Miles City, Montana, to a world champion with seven straight trips to Las Vegas, Haven Meged joins The Tie-Down Breakdown to talk about the moments that shaped his career. Meged reflects on his unforgettable 2019 rookie year, the evolution of tie-down roping, and the horsepower behind his success, before opening up about the injury-filled, high-pressure summer of 2025 that test...

Haven Meged joins The Tie-Down Breakdown after picking up his first go-round win of the week in Round 9 of the 2025 NFR, stopping the clock at 7.0 to earn $36,668 and pushing his Finals earnings to $74,801. The 2019 world champion talks about the grind it took just to qualify for his seventh straight NFR, how this season came down to the final week, and why patience mattered as the week in Las Veg...

Joel Harris kept things rolling in Round 7 with a 7.5-second run , marking his second straight go-round win on Daddys Shiner Cat , “Peso,” and adding $36,668 to his NFR week. A night after his 6.8 in Round 6, Harris backed in and capitalized again, bringing his 2025 NFR earnings to $137,210 through seven rounds. His week now includes: second in Round 1, sixth in Round 2, second in Round 5 and wins...

Joel Harris put the Thomas & Mack on notice in Round 6, stopping the clock at 6.8 seconds to snag his first go-round win of the 2025 NFR and pocket $36,668 aboard the legendary Daddys Shiner Cat, “Peso.” Harris has pieced together a solid week with checks in three rounds, but a no-time in Round 4 knocked him out of the average conversation. Still, Round 6 was his moment—clean start, sharp fini...

John Douch jumped back into the NFR spotlight in Round 5 of the 2025 NFR with a 7.4 to win $36,667, bumping himself to No. 2 in the average and holding strong at No. 4 in the world with $240,267 won. The other storyline trailing Douch this week? Horses—lots of them. He’s been on a different horse almost every night: starting on “Bo” in Round 1, switching to “Tomcat” in Round 2, back to Bo in Round...

Kincade Henry stepped back into the NFR winners circle for the first time since 2022, taking the Round 4 win with a 7.1 to earn $36,667.95. After a tough Round 2, Henry regrouped with Duals Crescent Boon, “Mario,” made a few adjustments and finally shook the NFR monkey off his back. The reset paid off in Round 4 and his win keeps him firmly planted at No. 3 in the world standings with $262,366 won...

Shad Mayfield lit up the Thomas & Mack on Thursday, taking home his first NFR Round 1 win. The seven-time NFR qualifier stopped the clock at 6.8 seconds, winning the round and pocketing $36,667.95. The win kept him at No. 2 in the world with $292,97.95 won, just $30,783.74 behind world No. 1, Riley Webb. The round marks Mayfield's fourth career NFR round win, and he joins The Tie-Down Breakdow...

On the latest episode of The Breakdown , 2025 INFR Breakaway World Champion Megan Lunak opens up about the four-run performance that earned her the gold buckle in Las Vegas—and the decades of resilience, heartbreak and faith that made that moment possible. Lunak won the title on Oct. 18 with a 13.41-second total on four head, earning $7,523 and securing the biggest win of her career. But on the po...

After a season filled with heartbreak, horse trouble and hard lessons, Bryce Derrer started the 2026 season with a $16,176 win at the Cinch Roping Fiesta in San Angelo, Texas.  In this episode of The Tie-Down Breakdown, Derrer opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of losing his girlfriend’s good horse mid-season and the faith that carried him through it all. He breaks down each of his ru...

Josie Conner and her 16-year-old gelding “Stylish Drifter,” known as Dutch , have done what only one other duo has managed in breakaway history—be named Horse of the Year twice. On the newest episode of The Breakdown , Conner joins Lillian Kent to talk about Dutch’s rare repeat as the 2025 AQHA Nutrena Breakaway Horse of the Year and the partnership that’s carried them to the top of ProRodeo. Afte...

Shelby Boisjoli-Meged and her gelding Reyzed On Sugar , better known as “Clark,” made history at the inaugural Solo Select Stallion Incentive Breakaway Futurity, earning $12,488 and the very first title at the Circle T Arena in Hamilton, Texas. On the newest episode of The Breakdown , Boisjoli-Meged takes listeners behind the scenes of her win. The episode also explores Boisjoli-Meged’s longtime b...

Each year the top 25 tie-down ropers in the PRCA world standings vote for the AQHA/PRCA Tie-Down Roping Horse of the Year bronze to go to one great calf horse.  On this episode of The Tie-Down Breakdown, we’ve asked some of the best calf ropers in the world to weigh in on who they think deserves the title. We talk with Shad Mayfield, Haven Meged, Marty Yates and Shane Hanchey on the horses th...

Bailey Bates rose to the occasion at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, seizing her last chance of the ProRodeo regular season to earn $34,978 and climb from No. 19 to No. 12 in the WPRA World Standings—securing her first career NFBR qualification. On the latest episode of The Breakdown , listeners hear directly from Bates and Australian roper Arianna Varischetti about the partnership with borrowe...

With a 2.4-second run in the championship round at the Cinch Playoff Series stop in Puyallup, Washington, Rylee George captured a bucket-list victory, banked nearly $20,000 on the week, and rocketed from No. 12 to inside the top 10 in the WPRA World Standings with $114,428. Now, fans can hear the full story straight from George on the latest episode of The Breakdown podcast, where she opens up abo...

On this episode of The Breakaway Breakdown , we sit down with Aspen Miller, Kinlie Brennise, Suzanne Williams, and Jenna Dallyn—the ropers writing their names into the record books for the very first time. From seasoned veterans chasing long-awaited dreams to young guns finding their stride in only their second ProRodeo season, each woman brings grit, horsepower, and resilience to the toughest sta...

For the first time in WPRA history, the top two breakaway ropers in the world are not only rewriting the record books—they’re rewriting the way the game is played. On the latest episode of The Breakaway Breakdown Podcast , we sit down with Taylor Munsell and Shelby Boisjoli-Meged. At the time of recording, Munsell held the slightest edge in the world standings. But since then, Boisjoli-Meged has s...