Taulman Ropes Title in Mesquite
While Cacee Sue Taulman might not be a household name yet in the WPRA Breakaway Roping ranks, she has world champion pedigree on her side. Her great-grandfather is the late Everett Shaw, a ProRodeo Hall of Famer who won six world titles in the steer roping and her late grandfather is Sonny Worrell, who won the 1978 PRCA Steer Roping title.
Taulman made them both proud this past weekend winning the WPRA Breakaway Roping title at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo, the first PRCA/WPRA sanctioned roping since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The Drumright, Oklahoma cowgirl roped her calf in 2.9 seconds to outdistance the field.
“It was a blessing,” said Taulman of her win. “That was the first time I had been back on my good horse, Joe, in about a year. He is 21 years old and I have had him since he was four. He carried me to the Junior High finals twice, High School finals twice and the College finals twice.
“I hadn’t been competing on Joe much lately as I have several young horses I am trying to bring along. I had been to Mesquite before to barrel race, so knew that it was a stick’em pen. I didn’t know what kind of calves they would have but knew it would have a short score and that is Joe’s A-game. He was the perfect horse for me for that type of set-up.”
Taulman who is currently working to fill her WPRA permit so her money can start counting to the world standings, knew it was going to be a tough roping at Mesquite when she saw names like JJ Hampton on the entry list.
“JJ is an idol and she is the same no matter what,” said Taulman. “She is always there in your corner. To compete against someone like her makes you want to be better. She is there to win but also there to help her fellow companions. When you see her name on the list you know you are going to need to bring your A-game.”
With the win in Mesquite, Taulman made a big jump towards filling her permit after winning $791 and is hoping to keep the momentum going this weekend at the Woodward (Oklahoma) Elks Rodeo. While no one knew what to expect with breakaway roping in Mesquite, Taulman watched those in slack before competing in the performance and she felt that knowledge paid off.
“My fiancé was competing in the team roping, so I got to watch slack so knew the calves were on the fresher end, and they weren’t taking off,” noted Taulman. “I was a little off on the start and ran him longer than I wanted but I just took my first shot and it all worked out.”
She knows she is in for another tough roping this week in Woodward and plans to use a different horse as the pen is much bigger.
“Woodward is going to be a tough roping with a good score due to a bigger pen and probably bigger calves,” said Taulman, who graduated from Sam Houston State University. “Not knowing exactly how the set-up will be and everyone not knowing opens it up to where we are all rookies on a level playing field. I enjoy that part of it.”
Taulman works as a safety engineer and has been busy trying to plan her wedding which was supposed to be in March, but due to COVID-19 has been rescheduled three times already.
“We are now supposed to get married in 19 days,” said Taulman on June 8.
Joining Taulman in the winner’s circle on the WPRA side was Wrangler NFR qualifier Tiany Schuster of Krum, Texas, who finished atop the leaderboard in the barrel racing. Schuster stopped the clock in 15.40 seconds. Maggie Carter was second in 15.51 seconds, while Brittney Barnett was third in a time of 15.63 seconds. Schuster added $811 to her 2020 World Standings and is currently ranked 13th with $19,724. Complete world standings can be found at www.wpra.com.
Results
Breakaway roping: 1. Cacee Sue Taulman, 2.9 seconds, $791; 2. Jordan Fabrizio, 3.3, $654; 3. (tie) Kayla Graham and Sarah Morrissey, 3.9, $450 each; 5. (tie) Brandy Gilbert, JJ Hampton and Ashleigh Williams, 12.1, $127 each.
Barrel racing: 1. Tiany Schuster, 15.40 seconds, $811; 2. Maggie Carter, 15.51, $705; 3. Brittney Barnett, 15.63, $599; 4. Abby Pursifull, 15.65, $494; 5. Kelly Bruner, 15.74, $388; 6. Shelby Janssen, 15.86, $282; 7. Jennifer Kalafatic, 16.04, $176; 8. Sarah Rau, 16.06, $71.
Courtesy of WPRA