Winning Ways with Kim Williamson

WINNING WAYS WITH KIM WILLIAMSON

BY JANICE BRYSON

The Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) is one of the largest rodeo sanctioning bodies in the world and is open to women eighteen years of age and older. The Association, with headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, currently has over 3,000 members from all over the contiguous United States, Canada, and Australia.

In addition to the WPRA’s barrel racing events held in conjunction with Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) events, the WPRA also has an All Women’s Division which sanctions rodeos exclusively for women. These all women’s rodeos feature five events – break-away calf roping, tie-down calf roping, team roping, bareback riding and bull riding - in addition to the barrel race. The 2018 WPRA World Championships were held in October in Waco, Texas.

Arizona cowgirl Kim Williamson is an eight time World Champion WPRA Breakaway Calf Roper and Team Roper. Raised in Farmington, New Mexico, Kim’s father rode rough stock and roped a little bit so Kim grew up around horses and rodeos. Growing up, she was involved in all the NM Junior Rodeo events she could compete in; including barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, ribbon roping, breakaway calf roping and team roping.

Working hard at events in New Mexico High School Rodeo, Kim qualified to compete in the National High Rodeo Association Finals in barrel racing, team roping and breakaway calf roping. She got to travel to South Dakota and Colorado to compete in the National High School Finals.

After graduation from Farmington High School in 1987, Kim moved to Phoenix, Arizona to attend DeVry Institute of Technology. She graduated from DeVry in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Operations. It was time to hit the rodeo trail hard again.

In 1995 Kim was a Finalist in Breakaway Roping for the Southwest Professional Rodeo Association. She was busy in 1996 competing in several rodeo associations becoming a finalist in Breakaway Roping in both the New Mexico Rodeo Association and the North American Rodeo Commission World. That year she was the West World Series Breakaway Champion and also won the Breakaway Championship for the Southwest Professional Rodeo Association. 1997 and 1998 found her very involved in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association; she was a Breakaway and Tie-Down Calf Roping Finalist in 1997 and Kim added Team Roping Heading and Heeling to her qualifying events as she headed to the WPRA Finals in 1998.

In 2000 Kim teamed up with her American Quarter Horse Association Breakaway Horse of the Year – Ladies Doc Desperado. They were a perfect fit; winning Breakaway Championships that year for the WPRA “Cactus Series”, the Grand Canyon Professional Rodeo Association and Reserve Champion Breakaway for the WPRA. The duo also had a finalist spot in the Tie-Down Calf Roping event. Kim became the WPRA World Champion Team Roping Heeler that year as well as winning the team roping finals average.

Kim continued her winning streak with both the WPRA and the Grand Canyon Rodeo Association. 2002 saw Kim riding the Tie-Down Calf Roping Horse of the Year, El Torro Doc, a horse Kim owned and trained herself. She set a new WPRA Breakaway arena record of 5.9 seconds on 3 calves in 2004. Between 2000 and 2008, Kim won WPRA World Championships twice each in Team Roping Heeling and Breakaway Calf Roping as well as a Team Roping Heading World Championship and a Tie-Down Calf Roping World Championship. The World Championships were in addition to being a WPRA Finals qualifier multiple times in these events through the years and being a Reserve World Champion a number of times in the events. Kim is the only women to ever win dual team roping titles. Kim has won a world title in every event she has roped in. In addition, Kim has twice won the prestigious All-Around WPRA All Women’s Rodeo World Champion title.

Kim’s outstanding roping ability in the rodeo arena has been featured in print articles in magazines such as Western Horseman, Spin to Win and American Horse. In 2002-2003 she was the Assistant Media coordinator of Professional Women in Rodeo. Kim produced a video “Roping to Win” teaching the do’s and don’ts of Breakaway Roping. She was also featured in the video “On the Road – Race to the Finals” as well as giving many interviews on radio and television.

For a number of years Kim gave private roping lessons as well as clinics helping participants improve their roping skills. She has given clinics in Canada; however, one of her favorite memories is of her one month stay in Australia. She gave private lessons every day and held four clinics around the country. The president of the biggest pro-rodeo association in the country loaned her his calf horse and she won the breakaway roping at one of the rodeos.

Kim is a Realtor with Revelation Real Estate and specializes in horse properties. Check out her website www.arizonahorsepropertyforsale. com. She keeps busy with real estate and competes in team roping events in the Southwest. She also enjoys volunteering with schools in helping students with their reading.

She has two favorite students she is teaching who live right next door to her. Her niece Cassandra Rodriguez, age 12, and nephew Julian Rodriquez, age 6, both compete in the Queen Creek Junior Rodeo Association. Kim is very proud of their progress in only their secondrodeo season. They couldn’t ask for a better teacher!

FIVE QUICK TIPS FROM KIM TO IMPROVE YOUR ROPING SKILLS

1. Get Mentally Prepared. You have to believe in yourself. If you don’t nobody else will.

2. Establish Positive Training Sessions. Go into practice sessions with specific goals in mind. Do whatever you can to accomplish those goals & feel good about yourself when the day’s done.

3. Have Patience. This applies to both yourself & your horse.

4. Know Your Limits. Learn to recognize when you need to push yourself a little further. But also recognize when practice sessions become counterproductive.

5. Believe in Your Ability to Win. Win, lose or draw, you should always believe you are a winner in life, love & faith.