FORT WORTH, Texas – Okeechobee’s Brighton Bauman was crowned the 2019 breakaway champion at the Priefert Patriot rodeo held in Fort Worth, Texas from Feb. 2­5 through March 4.

Bauman placed first out of 183 competitors in the open breakaway roping category with an average time of 8.84 seconds and was earned $6,375 for her victory.

The Patriot is billed as America’s richest combined equine event, with a expected payout of $3.3 million over events such as team roping, calf-roping, barrel racing and mounted shooting.

Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. The roper attempts to throw a lasso around a calf while pursing it on horseback. Once the rope is around the calf’s neck, the roper signals the horse to stop. When the calf hits the end of the rope, the rope is pulled tight and the string breaks. The breaking of the string marks the end of the run.

The championship at the Patriot rodeo is another victory in what has been a successful rodeo career so far for Bauman. In 2017 Bauman won the National High School Rodeo Association Breakaway Roping Title in Gillette, Wyo.

In that rodeo she finished near the top in all three rounds and won the average with a total of 7.49 seconds. Bauman finished in 2.55 seconds in the first round, and 2.38 seconds in the second round. She finished in 2.56 seconds in the finals.

“It was kind of just shock at first, and then happiness when I realized I had won it,” Bauman said shortly after winning that championship.

Bauman also won the Roy Cooper Junior Calf Roping title at the 33rd annual Roy Cooper World Championship held in Decatur, Texas, in 2017.

Bauman comes from a long line of Florida cowboys, cowgirls and rodeo competitors.

Her grandfather, Lloyd “Boosty” Boney, started working as a cowboy in Okeechobee at the age of 4 and her uncles Clint and Elton both have experience working and competing in rodeos.

Her mother, Tory Bauman, grew up riding cutting horses and competing in barrel races.