Rodeo Woman
At a fall video shoot, three-time World Champion and BreakawayRoping.com coach Erin Johnson ran calves aboard her world-class horses and offered professional advice to the camera while keeping a mindful eye on her young daughter, who happily entertained the off-camera crew.
As covered in previous articles about the growth of the sport, being a woman of the rodeo road comes with unique challenges. While the men have long been in the practice of piling in a rig to cut the cost of covering miles, for instance, the women share their rigs with not-quite-ready-to-contribute kiddos. For the athletes who are also mothers, the inherent responsibilities of womanhood can be burden and blessing in one.
Burdens and blessings, highs and lows, wins and losses. Rarely does one exist without the other, but as fans and proponents of the sport, the focus remains almost exclusively on the wins. In reality, though, there are truths about being a woman and mother that cannot be escaped, no matter the miles traveled. Truths that don’t care if you’re one of the world’s
