Willingdon & District Agricultural Society Hosts All Girl Breakaway and Team Roping Competition

Willingdon & District Agricultural Society Hosts All Girl Breakaway and Team Roping Competition

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Brittany Schuk has been roping cattle since the tender age of 11-years-old. Her love of the sport continues to grow and she enjoys sharing her passion with others.

Case in point was the most recent all girl breakaway and team roping competition she organized with the assistance of Isabelle Schmidt at the indoor riding arena in Willingdon on April 3. There was a total of 40 breakaway ropers and 82 teams at the event.

“I felt the event went well, and was well supported by the amount of ladies coming to rope.” She said there were a lot of ag members who showed up to help along with other volunteers who made everything run smoothly.

Both Schuk and Schmidt are directors with the ag society. While Schuk competes in breakaway and team roping, Schmidt prefers to stick to team roping. Schmidt said she’s developed long term relationships through the sport and says all the competitors are very supportive of one another. She said she’s learned a lot since she began competing and enjoys meeting up with many of her fellow competitors at other roping events. “It’s like a second family,” added Schmidt.

Team roping.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

Two Hills area resident and former roper Joan Ullery was happy to take in the action. Ullery said she and her late husband started their own roping club in the area many years ago. “He won the first team roping saddle in 1969.” She also recalled winning a team roping event with her partner Corey Dunlap in Ashmont in 2009, beating out 400 teams to claim the title. She said her son Darwin ropes as well as her grandson Clay Ullery who won the Canadian Finals Rodeo team roping championship with Tyce McLeod in 2021.

This was the first time the all-girl event had been held since 2020 and Schuk plans to hold another one next spring.

Whether Schuk is roping close to home or not, her enthusiasm and competitive spirit shine through. Last year she was the Canadian All Girl Rodeo Association season leader in breakaway roping. She also competed in the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals hosted by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association in Regina Saskatchewan. She is planning on competing in the finals this fall as well.