‘It was all or nothing’: Indian Wells cowgirl comes through in short round performance

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Jun 9, 2022 | Rodeo |

PRESCOTT, Ariz.

Go big or go home.

That adage seemed to best describe the plight Janae Todacheenie faced during Saturday’s short round performance at the state finals of the Arizona High School Rodeo Association.

The Indian Wells, Arizona, breakaway roper was beset with two bad draws in the first two rounds, and her bid to make nationals for the third time appeared to be in jeopardy.

“I felt like I had to go for it,” Todacheenie said. “It was all or nothing.”

The recent Holbrook High graduate closed out the four-day state finals with a 3.42 run.

“I’m pretty sure I got out good, but I felt like I took an extra swing, and I could have thrown earlier,” she said.

Nonetheless, that run secured her a fifth-place finish in the short round, as she collected six points to her year-end total of 61 points.

She earned most of those points during the regular season as she was seeded third with 55 points going into the state finals.

“It kind of went pretty well, but I struggled here and there,” Todacheenie said of the regular season. “I wanted to win the year-end, but it didn’t work out.

In the opening round, she posted a no time, and in the second round, she recorded a 5.18 run, finishing 27th overall.

“I didn’t draw very good in the first two rounds,” she said. “One of my calves went left, and the other one ran hard, so I was too long there.”

In the short round, Todacheenie said she finally had a good draw.

“I just told myself that I had to go for it, and it all worked out,” she said.

Todacheenie is looking to come out swinging at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyoming, next month.

“I hope to win a (national) title this time,” she said while adding that the competition in the AHSRA has prepared her well.

“It was tough, and I felt like I gave it my best,” she said. “You had to be on top of your game every week to move up in the standings.”

Todacheenie felt that she couldn’t do this without her robust support system.

“My family is really high in rodeo,” she said. “I like to thank my parents for taking me to all of my rodeos.”