The Breakdown

Equine Podcast Network
Equine Podcast Network
  • 4.7 (31)
  • Sports

The Breakaway Roping Journal and CalfRoping.com present "The Breakdown," a weekly podcast featuring breakaway roping and tie-down roping's top talent, from the professional athletes, to the amateurs, to those breeding the top horses in the game. Each episode features an interview with a top athlete or personality in the rodeo industry. We also feature bonus episodes with roping tips from Roping.com, exclusive event interviews and more.

  1. Aug 26

    The Breakaway Breakdown: Linsay Sumpter Talks Tad Lucas, The Run For A Million and Women’s Rodeo on Network TV

    Premier Women’s Rodeo commissioner Linsay Sumpter is collecting hardware for work she is nowhere close to finished doing. Sumpter, who has run the organization since 2022, received the Tad Lucas Award this summer and will accept the Annie Oakley Trailblazer Award at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in November. In between, she is teaching agriculture business in her 18th year at Otero College in La Junta, Colorado, and roping toward the CPRA finals in Montrose. She also just put 20 breakaway ropers in front of the show-horse world. The inaugural PWR showcase at The Run For A Million ran on $50,000 added, and by Sumpter’s account Hailey Jo Hall won $20,000 with a 2.5-second run and Lari Dee Guy placed second. Next comes the Road to the Championship, a made-for-TV competition Dec. 17–20 at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth with every classification represented and tickets already on sale. It feeds a 14-episode Grit series expected to start airing in February and running to the PWR Championship in May. We talked about the awards, bringing rough stock, goat tying and pole bending back to a professional stage, how the Run For A Million showcase came together over a phone call, the storytelling behind the new series and her advice for anyone trying to break into the sport on this episode of The Breakaway Breakdown. About Roping.comThis episode is presented by Roping.com. Roping.com is where breakaway ropers go to get faster, with full practice sessions from the ropers winning right now and instruction that covers scoring, swing and delivery, position and the mental game. See how Lari Dee Guy sets up in the corner, how Kelsie Domer delivers under pressure, how Taylor Munsell stays sharp and more. Real runs, real coaching. Visit Roping.com to rope smarter and get faster.

  2. Aug 3

    The Tie-Down Breakdown: Cole Eiguren’s $10,100 Tie-Down Run to the Cheyenne All-Around

    Cole Eiguren arrived at the 2026 Cheyenne Frontier Days entered in two events and left with $11,100, an all-around championship and a buckle tied to generations of family history. Most of Eiguren’s Cheyenne earnings came in the tie-down roping, where he won his bracket, placed second in the semifinals and finished fourth in the finals for $10,100. He did it aboard Stoner, the 8-year-old grade red roan gelding his family bought as a colt and selected specifically for Cheyenne’s walking-fresh setup. In this episode, Eiguren walks through his bracket win, the semifinals and the added urgency behind his finals run. He also explains why Stoner excels on fresh calves, what he learned after tearing his MCL at Cheyenne in 2025 and how he kept the all-around race out of his mind with one calf left to rope. The buckle itself carries even more meaning. Eiguren’s grandfather won five Cheyenne buckles, including an all-around buckle that Eiguren’s mother now wears. With his first child due in October, Eiguren’s new buckle may one day become part of that same family tradition.

  3. Jul 29

    The Breakaway Breakdown: Beau Peterson's Salt Lake Win

    Beau Peterson has been fighting the waves of rodeo this summer—but a Days of 47 win might change that. The two-time NFBR qualifier walked away from Salt Lake City with $20,697 won and a hope for a turn of luck. Riding "Richard," her new horse purchased from Payden Bray back in June, she and traveling partner, Madison Outhier, have been rodeoing hard. We discussed the win, picking rodeos, making all night drives and staying mentally strong when things aren't going your way on this episode of The Breakaway Breakdown. About Fast Back RopesThis episode is presented by Fast Back Ropes. A longtime supporter of The Breakaway Roping Journal, Fast Back takes pride in building quality ropes that offer the durability, performance, and consistency ropers can rely on. With a commitment to craftsmanship, innovation, and customer satisfaction, Fast Back continues to create products designed to bring value both in and out of the arena. Visit fastbackropes.com to shop ropes and gear, find a retailer, or download the latest catalog.

  4. Jul 24

    The Tie-Down Breakdown: Shad Mayfield's First Win Back at Salinas

    Shad Mayfield had one week left before he was going to load up and go home for the summer. But then he won the California Rodeo Salinas. The two-time PRCA World Champion tied three calves in 30.3 seconds to win the Salinas average on Popular Snow Resort "Tootsie Pop," banking $13,576 for the first win of his comeback from double hip surgery—exactly 40 years after his father, Sylvester, won the same buckle. It capped a $28,076 week that also included a second-place finish worth $14,500 at the NFR Open in Colorado Springs, and he joins The Tie-Down Breakdown to talk about it. About Roping.comLearn to rope from the best. A Roping.com membership gets you full access to the most comprehensive tie-down video library anywhere, with instruction from World Champions Caleb Smidt and Shad Mayfield plus top hands Logan Harkey, Justin Maass and Blane Cox — plus hundreds of hours of archived tie-down livestreams. Choose anywhere from one month to a full year.

  5. Jul 21

    The Tie-Down Breakdown: Justin Maass on the Mechanics Behind Riley Webb's Roping

    Riley Webb has spent the last two years rewriting the tie-down roping record book. Instead of asking the world No. 1 to explain himself again, we called one of the sharpest students of the game to do it for us. This week on The Tie-Down Breakdown, eight-time NFR qualifier, million-dollar cowboy and horseman Justin Maass joins the show to break down exactly what separates Riley from the field. Maass points to the things most fans never notice: the way Webb reads the barrier better than anyone he's ever watched, the move he makes to bring the calf's hip to his right leg so the flank happens faster than the competition, and his ability to run wide open on every calf without ever getting his horse in trouble. From there, Maass digs into the bigger picture—the rise of South Louisiana as one of calf roping's hotbeds and the coaching that's fueled it, where Webb stacks up against the legends Maass grew up watching, from Dean Oliver to Fred Whitfield, Cody Ohl and Caleb Smidt, and just how high the ceiling really is for an athlete this humble, this talented and this hard to beat. About Roping.comGet unlimited access to roping.com‘s comprehensive tie-down, breakaway, and team roping video library and learn from World Champions Caleb Smidt and Shad Mayfield as well as top trainers Logan Harkey and Justin Maass. Rope with legendary breakaway ropers like Lari Dee Guy, Hope Thompson, and 2024 NFBR World Champion Kelsie Domer. Plus, binge hundreds of hours of live and archived ropings including the Cinch Timed Event Championship, The Patriot Events, and more.

  6. Jul 15

    The Breakaway Breakdown: Cheyanne McCartney talks about the Old West Futurites Road to a Million, balancing rodeoing and futurities and how her and her husband, Cody, make it all work.

    Cheyanne McCartney joins this episode of The Breakaway Breakdown fresh off a two-for-two week at Old West's Heber City Futurity, where she won the 4-&-Under Pre-Futurity Breakaway on Thiccthirty and the 6-&-Under Futurity Breakaway on Hez Talkin Smack—with a runner-up finish thrown in on Dont Quote Me, “Muffin.” She talks through what it actually takes to keep four horses straight over two days of competition, why she builds “a little routine” with each one instead of treating the string as one job, and how reading fresh calves changes as the barrier shortens round to round. She also gets into the bigger picture: Reyzin Royals' run at Old West's $1 million Road to the Million bonus after the mare's $40,000 side-pot win at Guthrie, the trade-offs of chasing both a WPRA Top 15 run and a full futurity calendar—including skipping Nampa to make this week's short round—and the family storyline that made Heber City extra sweet. Hez Talkin Smack carried her to an $8,933 futurity check, then turned around and carried husband Cody to a split win at the Pleasant Grove Rodeo days later. This episode is brought to you by Old West Futurities. Old West isn’t just raising the bar—we’re redefining what’s possible in the rope horse industry. With more than $1.12 million paid out in Guthrie and over $1.37 million paid out in Heber City, Old West has quickly become one of the premier destinations for heading, heeling, and breakaway competition. With record-setting horse sales, industry-leading payouts, exclusive Sale Graduate incentives, and a $1 Million Bonus opportunity, Old West is where legends are made and records are broken. Learn more about our futurities and horse sales at OldWest.com.

  7. Jun 23

    The Breakaway Breakdown: Hope Thompson Talks Rodeo, Futurity Horses and Building a Training Program

    Four-time WPRA World Champion Hope Thompson joins The Breakaway Breakdown to talk about how life looks as she steps back from full-time rodeoing and steps into the futurity and training world and what it takes to build great rope horses from the ground up. Thompson talks through the wins that shaped her career, from the college finals to WPRA world titles and all-around championships, and how adding more events only fueled her love for roping. The conversation dives into the shift from hauling hard to the rodeos to focusing more on young horses, futurities and creating a long-term business. Thompson breaks down why the futurity world has become such an important part of her program, how she defines success now and why she still has no plans to step away from rodeo completely. She also gets into the technical side of training rope horses, from scoring and tracking cattle to letting each horse tell her when they are ready. Thompson shares what she looks for in a prospect, why a good mind matters as much as talent and how horses like Ink and Gucci have helped shape the way she trains. About SmartPak This episode is brought to you by SmartPak and ColiCare. Colic is one of the leading causes of emergency vet visits—and it’s something every horse owner worries about. That’s why SmartPak developed ColiCare, a comprehensive approach to hindgut health and colic prevention. ColiCare combines targeted digestive support with a program designed to help you stay ahead of potential issues—not just react to them. It’s built on research, formulated to support a healthy gut environment, and backed by a unique benefit: eligible horses enrolled in the program may receive up to $15,000 in colic surgery reimbursement. Whether you’re hauling, training hard, or just managing day-to-day stressors, your horse’s digestive system is constantly under pressure. ColiCare is designed to help you manage those risks with confidence. Visit SmartPakEquine.com to learn more about how ColiCare can support your horse’s long-term health.

  8. Jun 15

    The Breakdown: Blake Ramsey Joins the Mic as Breakaway's New Voice

    This week on The Breakdown, CalfRoping.com host Hannah Mann is joined by Blake Ramsey, the newest member of the Equine Network and Western Sports Group team and the new voice behind Breakaway Roping Journal coverage. Earlier this year, Calli Montague stepped in to lead breakaway coverage on an interim basis after previous host Lillian Kent moved to the Horse&Rider side of the Western Sports Group. With a new hire now in place, Calli is shifting back to The Team Roping Journal, and Blake takes over the breakaway portion of the podcast going forward. On this episode, Blake shares her background growing up between Colorado and Kansas, her family’s ranching ties in New Mexico, and her years as a barrel racer and breakaway roper through high school and college rodeo. She talks about studying media and marketing, her path into Western media, and what drew her to the Breakaway Roping Journal. She also digs into why breakaway’s explosive growth has her fired up, and the kind of storytelling she hopes to bring to listeners of The Breakdown. In this episode:The latest team changes and what they mean for Breakaway Roping Journal coverageBlake’s rodeo roots, from barrel racing and breakaway to college rodeoHer path into Western media and how she landed at the Equine NetworkWhat excites her about breakaway’s growth and the stories she hopes to tell

See All (161)

Trailer

4.7
out of 5
31 Ratings

About

The Breakaway Roping Journal and CalfRoping.com present "The Breakdown," a weekly podcast featuring breakaway roping and tie-down roping's top talent, from the professional athletes, to the amateurs, to those breeding the top horses in the game. Each episode features an interview with a top athlete or personality in the rodeo industry. We also feature bonus episodes with roping tips from Roping.com, exclusive event interviews and more.

Information

More From Equine Podcast Network

You Might Also Like