SALT LAKE CITY – Kelsie Domer is scrambling.
Heading into this week of rodeos, the reigning world champion breakaway roper is on the outside looking in. She’s 18th in the world standings and needs to move up at least three places if she’s going to defend her gold buckle during the National Finals Breakaway Roping this December.
She’s taking every opportunity available to secure her spot among the top 15 by the end of the regular season, which concludes Sept. 30. It’s just one of the reasons she’ll be at Utah’s Own Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5; Saturday, Sept. 6; and Monday, Sept. 8, in the Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City. Tickets can be purchased at UtahStateFair.com/tickets.
It’s number-crunching time for rodeo’s elite. The top cowboys and cowgirls are all battling for those cherished 15 positions that compete for rodeo’s gold. Every dollar counts, and the purse at Utah’s Own Rodeo is a big reason why there are nearly 500 contestants who have entered the competition.
Local organizers are throwing in $10,000 an event, an increase of $30,000 over last year. Those dollars are mixed with contestants’ entry fees to make up the overall purse. The winners in each event should win about $4,000, and that could mean all the difference between competing in Las Vegas in December or staying home.
Domer is a 10-time titlist in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association; all but the 2024 championship came before breakaway roping joined the sport’s mainstream. She’s a versatile cowgirl, having also won gold buckles in tie-down roping and the all-around. Her focus in recent years has been on breakaway, though.
The discipline has been around for decades, but it burst onto the ProRodeo scene in 2019. The first breakaway finals – which takes place in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo – occurred in 2020. It’s been growing ever since.
This is a huge step for the WPRA. When Domer won her first world championships in tie-down roping and the all-around in 2012, she earned just less than $7,000 … for the year. When she claimed gold last season, she pocketed more than $168,000. That’s a significant pay increase over a dozen years.
Shelby Boisjoli-Meged, the 2023 world champ, owns the breakaway roping single-season earnings record with $197,706. She and Domer are just two titlists expected to compete in Salt Lake City. They will be joined by Sawyer Gilbert, who won in 2021, and Erin Johnson, a three-time winner.
They understand it’s a big opportunity at some big-time Utah cash with just weeks left on the 2025 schedule.