She’s a Hand
Cottonwood cowgirl wins first ever Red Bluff Round-Up All-Around title
Nellie Williams Miller is the first woman to ever win the all-around title at the Red Bluff Round-Up. The Cottonwood, Calif. cowgirl won the most money in two events: first place in the barrel racing and third place in the breakaway roping. Photo by Matt Cohen.
Red Bluff, Calif. – Nellie Williams Miller is the first woman to ever win the All-Around title at the Red Bluff Round-Up.
The All-Around award is given to a rodeo contestant who competes in two or more events and wins the most money in those events.
Miller, of Cottonwood, Calif., won the barrel racing title, pocketing $7,216, and third place in the breakaway roping average at the Round-Up, winning $597.41.
Women have rarely won the all-around award at pro rodeos till the breakaway roping, a women’s event, was added to select rodeos, because the barrel racing was usually the only women’s event at pro rodeos. (Women can team rope but there are very few of them.) Now, with the addition of the breakaway roping, that opportunity is possible.
Miller competed in front of her hometown crowd and was delighted to win the title. “For 98 years of rodeo, it’s a pretty big feat,” she said. “It was a really good win and with it being my hometown, people are really excited about it.”
She and her husband James have two daughters, and she knows being the first woman to win the title is a model for them. “You need to take your opportunities when you can get them, and this was definitely one of those times for me. I want to be a good example for them in that way. That’s what I want for them.”
This is the second year the breakaway roping has been added to the Round-Up. The 2019 champion breakaway roper is Jane Wood, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
For her efforts, Miller received the all-around buckle.
Miller competed in the breakaway roping and barrel racing in the California High School Rodeo Association and collegiately at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. In high school, she won the California High School Rodeo Association barrel racing title twice (2003-2004), and the breakaway title once (2005). She has been a Women’s Pro Rodeo Association member since 2006. She has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the pinnacle of the pro rodeo world, three times, finishing the 2017 rodeo season as world champion.
Plans are underway for the 99th annual Red Bluff Round-Up, which will take place April 17-19, 2020. More information can be found online at www.RedBluffRoundUp.com.