The women of rodeo took Cheyenne Frontier Days by storm during the rodeo week and during Championship Sunday.

CHEYENNE, WY —Barrel racers, breakaway ropers and even women’s ranch bronc riders competed at the 126 th year of CFD.

BARREL RACING

History was made before the rodeo performances started, with a new barrel racing arena record during the qualifying rounds on July 20. Having never been to Cheyenne, Summer Kossel decided to give it a try with her eight-year-old horse Apollo. The mother from North Dakota ended up making history by breaking the 26-year arena record set in 1996 by one one-hundredth of a second with a time of 17.02. She continued her run in Cheyenne, dominating again with a run of 17.34-seconds. It was a run that was good enough to win the round and earn her a spot in the finals on Sunday, July 31.

Growing up in Wyoming, Andrea Busby drove by Cheyenne Frontier Days Arena countless times. Her dream came true on finals Sunday as she captured her first Cheyenne win in the Barrel racing. With a mare that had only ran in performances five times, Busby stopped the clock with a 17.13 second run. Having just recently lost her uncle, it was a very emotional win for Busby.

Women Ranch Bronc Riding

For the first time, Cheyenne Frontier Days held the first Women Ranch Bronc Championship world finals. After only two days of afternoon performances, Allysa Spierings from Missouri was named the champion.

First Women Ranch Bronc Champion Allysa Spierings from Missouri — Photo credit Brianna Garcia

She was the only rider to stay on to the whistle at the Daddy for two riding opportunities out of contestants from the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Lake Iolani Stevens from Hawaii took the title of reserve champion after completing a ride during performance two of the world finals.

BREAKAWAY

During the Semifinals, Tiffany Schieck from Floresville, Texas split the round with Martha Angelone with a run of 4.6-seconds, earning a spot in the finals. Schieck went on to run in the breakaway roping during finals Sunday, earning the title of co-champion after stopping the clock with a time of 4.0-seconds.

Macy Young also stopped the clock at 4.0-seconds, tying with Schieck and winning Cheyenne as well. Schieck tied in every round in Cheyenne, giving credit to her horse due to the fact that Cheyenne’s arena is so large and difficult. For Young, it was all about having her family and a support system behind her.