Record-setting year: Danielle Lowman on course to beat last year’s earnings of $102,009

ALBUQUERQUE – Arizona cowgirl Danielle Lowman is headed to her third Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The world finals is slated for Dec. 3-4 at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center as the two-day event will have a purse of $300,000, an increase of $50,000 from one year ago.

The Diné breakaway roper is having a record-setting year. She secured her WNFR spot earlier this year as Lowman enters the final week of the regular season in eighth place in the WPRA breakaway world standings with $97,998 in winnings.

Lowman will close out the regular season this week with rodeos in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Stevensville, Texas, and Poway, California.

“I feel like this year was more like a rollercoaster just because I ended up leaving my good horse at home for the summer,” Lowman said of her horse, Shi’ Biiz. “I used her for the winter rodeos, and I ended up jumping on a younger horse.”

Shi’ Biiz won a big chunk of her earnings as Lowman amassed $67,336 before the start of the summer rodeos. A third of her winnings came from the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Lowman, who grew up in White Cone, Arizona, collected $23,000 at those two high-profile rodeos as she was dubbed the “Texas Swing Queen” in February.

“She went with me for three straight years and all that hauling takes a toll on them,” the Gilbert, Arizona, cowgirl said. “They get run down as much as we do.”

With all those winnings before the start of the summer run, Lowman opted to use a fairly new horse, Boomer, instead of her primary mount.

“I felt like it was a challenging year for the both of us because he wasn’t fully finished,” Lowman said. “I started breakaway roping on him about year-and-a-half ago, so he hadn’t been rodeoing a whole lot.

“It was something different for me from what I’m used to,” she added. “But I felt like this horse was ready.”

Since riding on her new mount, Lowman is staying the course of hitting the $100,000 mark. She is bound to hit that as Lowman is looking to surpass the $102,009 earnings she made last season.

“Right now, the money is out there,” Lowman said. “I mean, you’re able to win $100,000 in the regular season.”

Not only that, but the exponential growth of the sport has also sparked huge interest from other groups besides the WPRA. In November, Lowman will be competing in a pair of high-profile events in the Valley.

She’s invited to compete in the Hondo Rodeo Fest, which will be held on Nov. 7-9 at Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks in downtown Phoenix.

The three-day rodeo event will be paired with concerts performed by the Zac Brown Band, Brooks & Dunn, and Hank Williams Jr. The rodeo has a combined $1 million prize pool for all the rodeo events.

During the Thanksgiving weekend, Kimes Ranch is hosting a $1 million breakaway roping event at Westworld in Scottsdale, Arizona, Nov. 27-30.

The top 10 cowgirls in the world standings are automatically qualified. The 10-round event will pay $825,000 with the go-round winner winning $25,000. The average will have a total payout of $175,000 with the aggregate champion taking home $60,000.

“This is a great opportunity,” Lowman said of the upcoming events. “Honestly, I can’t wait to go home and start practicing because when you’re on the road you don’t ever get to practice.

“We’re constantly going and going to where you hardly ever slow down,” she added.

Depending on the setup, Lowman is considering her options as to what horse she’s going to use as she is also qualified for next month’s Indian National Finals Rodeo. The 31-year-old cowgirl says the horses they use play a big part in their roping game.

“The horsepower nowadays is important,” Lowman said. “If you have a good horse, and if things are clicking for the both of you, it gives you the confidence you need to rope.

“In years past, I was like, ‘Man, I can rope anything,’” she added. “But now, it’s like, ‘What do I have to do to take a step up?’ because it’s getting tough out there.”

Lowman is looking forward to her next three rodeos, which start with the INFR that is scheduled for Oct. 22-26 at the Southpoint Equestrian Center in Las Vegas.

“I feel like this year I’m taking a better approach with trying to figure out what horse gives me the most confidence,” Lowman said. “These last three rodeos are wanting us to be fast, so I have to figure out what horse is going to fit the setups they have.”

Admittedly, Lowman says she does not know what the setup will be at the Kimes Ranch breakaway event.

“It’s always fast for that production but the bigger sponsors might want to change things,” Lowman said. “I just want to be prepared for whatever setup they have. You know, it’s going to pay a lot. Most of the money is going to be won in the go-rounds, so that is where everyone is going to be aggressive.

“It’s a great opportunity but there are so many good ropers,” she added. “There is so many people that know how to handle a rope and they know how to handle their horses, so it’s going to be tough.”

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