By Amy Wilson
Courtesy WPRA
The 124th Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo continues to be legendary, but in new ways. They moved into the new Dickies Arena, implemented a new rodeo format, and added WPRA Breakaway Roping with an equal added payout of $127,600 dollars.
Each ProRodeo event featured 56 contestants who were divided into seven brackets that competed in two rounds. Money won determined who advanced to the semifinal rounds or wildcard round, and ultimately the championship finals.
Cassie Bahe, along with her younger sister, Anna, earned their opportunity to rope at the FWSSR from being ranked high enough in the WPRA Breakaway Roping World Standings after having success in the Wilderness Circuit. “We were about 30 cents apart going into the [Wilderness Circuit] finals,” Cassie said. “I ended up second, and my sister was first.”
Cassie, 24, learned to rope from her dad, Francis, when she was about 5 years old. “My dad has always been a really good roper, but he mainly just team ropes. He got us started on roping and I’ve loved it ever since,” she explained. “There’s never been a time that I didn’t think I was going to rope.”
With the recent advancement of breakaway roping in professional rodeo, Cassie and other breakaway ropers are getting experiences they’ve never had before. “It’s my favorite rodeo,” she said of the FWSSR at Dickies Arena. “The committee is awesome. We ate dinner in contestant hospitality most nights and I took showers in the locker room there. They are just so accommodating, especially for stalls and rv hookups – it was amazing. I’ve never been to a rodeo where they just accommodate to cowboys and cowgirls so much.” Then she added with a laugh, “I definitely felt like real high-class there.”
The Bahe sisters both competed in Bracket 5. Anna won the first round with a 2.6 second run, but Cassie missed her first calf. “I kind of got real down on myself thinking I was going to be out of it. But I came back the next day and won the round which got me into the semifinals,” Cassie said. Her 2.4 second run was enough to advance her to the semifinals. “I really love that tournament format which is based on money won.”
With a couple days off, Cassie, who is originally from Grantsville, Utah but now living in Idaho Falls, Idaho, got to enjoy everything Texas has to offer but her focus was still on roping. She and Anna roped with James Barton a couple times. “That helped a lot,” she said. “It’s definitely nice to get a few practice runs in and especially with his help – he was awesome.” They also watched the calves at Dickies each night.
After the wildcard round, Anna advanced with a 2.3 second run for second place, and they both drew up in semifinals B. Anna split the win with 2.3 seconds and Cassie split third and fourth place with 2.5 seconds to advance them both to the championship finals.
Cassie was first out in the clean slate, shootout-style championship finals with $20,000 for first place on the line. “I actually had the same calf that I ran the night before in the semifinals,” she said. Her game plan was to score the calf longer so she could rope faster since she had to pull her horse at the line the night before which cost her precious time. “I gave that calf a good step and it worked – I was good at the barrier and it gave me a faster shot to rope him.” Cassie’s 2.3 second run held throughout the entire breakaway field to earn her the first ever FWSSR Breakaway Roping Championship. “It’s awesome – I feel extremely grateful,” Cassie said. “It’s a huge honor just to compete there, and then to come out winning it – you can’t even put that into words it’s so cool. This is what I would dream about ever since I was a little girl – to compete on this kind of a stage. To be the first one to win it…I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet.”
Cassie’s equine partner was Roy, a 13-year-old grade sorrel gelding. “That horse is so easy to rope fast on – he makes it so easy,” she said. Although the sisters rode different horses growing up, for the past couple years they have both been roping on Roy, who is the Wilderness Circuit Breakaway Horse of the Year. “He’s got a heart of gold and he tries so hard every time,” Cassie said complimenting the horse that was born on her grandparents’ and uncle’s ranch in Idaho. “My dad had this really old head horse that was going to be perfect for my uncle’s kids, so he traded him for Roy as a yearling and we’ve had him ever since.” Roy helped Cassie win $23,260 and Anna win $9,860 at the FWSSR. Although their dad doesn’t expect a cut of their winnings even though he technically owns Roy, Cassie joked that she should give him a little since he often helps with buying diesel too. And she knows her big win will help pay off her student loans after graduating in December from Utah State University with her degree in Biological Engineering. “I don’t really want to spend it on big girl things, but I guess I’m going to have to,” she said with a laugh.
It’s been an exciting past couple of months for Cassie as she also got engaged to Andrew Latham, who is a hockey player she met at college. “It’s fun because I love to watch him play hockey and he loves to watch me rope,” she said. Then like any true roper, she added, “And it’s nice to always have chute help.”