Winning and finishing second in rodeo can happen in the blink of an eye.

Overall, the sport is fast-paced, where livelihoods are measured in eight-second increments. But life gets a lot faster for the competitors in breakaway roping, where winning runs typically are in the 2-second range.

Erin Johnson of Pueblo, Colo., and Willow Raley of Baggs, Wyo., are occasional traveling partners. They’re also battling each other for this year’s Women’s Professional Rodeo Association breakaway roping world championship. In fact, the world title likely will be won during the WPRA World Finals, set for Oct. 13-16 in Lincoln, Neb.

Last year, Lari Dee Guy roped four calves in 15.5 seconds to win the average title in Lincoln. That helped Guy to the 2010 world title.

But it also serves as a pretty handy script for Johnson and Raley to follow this year.