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Briana Waltz
2021 World Champion
Breakaway Roper
HOMETOWN: Dresden, TN AGE: 26
Waltz is a seasoned IFR veteran with 9 qualifications to her credit, she earned her first world championship in 2017. “I’ve been roping a long time, I started running barrels when I was young and my dad said if I was going to run barrels, I was going to rope too. I made my first amateur finals when I was 12.”
“Winning the world was not my plan coming into the IFR. I’m riding a horse that I just bought in May from Trent Creager in Oklahoma. I’d been breaking out a lot and struggling. My goal was just to qualify for the IFR, and I came in 11th.”
“Technically, all the girls had a shot at the gold buckle, I just treated it like 4 one-head rodeos. I didn’t have anything to lose, and I really wanted to win the average even though in my mind I wasn’t treating it like an average roping.”
“I’m a registered nurse and work keeps me busy, so I don’t get to practice as much as I’d like to. I try to rope the dummy as much as I can and try to rope calves at least twice a week.”
“How much we travel this year will depend a lot on the fuel prices, but hopefully, we’ll get to go to New York this summer where my parents live. Since their rodeo season is so short, there are about 10 weeks of rodeos that are close together that we always try to get to.”