UPDATE: Morrissey’s fans can watch her compete on Dec. 6 & 7, 2021 at https://wranglernetwork.com/ beginning at 12:00PM PST each day.
The Nicola Valley has long been considered a farming and ranching community, home to much beloved and well attended Little Britches and High School rodeo events as well as ranch rodeo and the Labour Day Weekend Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo.
Ty Pozzobon may be a well-known rodeo athlete from the community, but Merrittonians should also recognize Sarah Morrissey for her rise to the top in the sport of breakaway roping, where she is poised to finish this season in the top 15 in the world.
Morrissey was born and raised in the Nicola Valley and despite more than a decade away, still considers Merritt home.
“I graduated there in ’98, and my roots will always be there and my family and friends,” said Morrissey.
“And then I came to the States and did all my college and university and became a pharmacist.”
Morrissey pursued a career as a pharmacist for eleven years before she could no longer deny the calling of her rodeo dreams and hung up her lab coat to hit the road with her truck and horse trailer.
“In 2019 I decided to retire from the profession and rodeo full time,” said Morrissey, who sold her house in Washington.
“I’ve been on the road ever since. Home is where I park.”
This probably came as no surprise to people who know Morrissey, who has been part of the rodeo scene since she was eight years old, taking part in Little Britches and High School Rodeo, as well as College Rodeo while she attended Idaho State University, Chadron State College and University of Wyoming.
“I’ve been roping since I was ten years old, basically,” said Morrissey.
“The world of breakaway roping is blossoming, and I jumped on the bandwagon.”
Indeed, breakaway roping is one of the fastest growing equine sports in rodeo. A variation of calf roping, a single mounted rider ropes a calf and then brings their horse to a sudden stop. Rather than dismounting and then throwing and tying the calf, the rope is tied to the saddle horn with a string which breaks when the calf reaches the end of the rope, hence the term “breakaway”.
So, how is a Canadian woman from small town BC welcomed into arguably the toughest, most famed rodeo circuit in the world?
According to Morrissey, with open arms.
“Rodeo has no borders or barriers that way, we’re an all-inclusive sport, I think,” Morrissey said.
“I guess it’s probably because it’s what we all do, and we’ve all done it forever. It’s a pretty welcoming sport, to anybody who is interested in learning to carry on with it. We’re all treated pretty fairly.”
Fellow competitors have become an extended family for Morrissey, who frequently sets up her trailer at her friend’s homes, taking a break from the road and practicing her roping.
“I literally live in my horse trailer, I do live on the road,” said Morrissey.
“I couldn’t do it without my friends and the people behind me.”
Living on the road, however, has made Morrissey more adaptable, resilient and levelheaded.
“You have to roll with the punches. I live on the road, 24/7 and there’s always ups and downs and roadblocks between winning and losing, the price of fuel and the price of repairs and just keeping a rig going down the road is just a challenge in and of itself. You have to learn how to take it one step at a time.”
In December, Morrissey will test her mettle with the best of the best in her sport, heading to the Holy Grail of rodeo, the National Finals.
“I’ll be competing in Las Vegas at the National Finals Breakaway Roping,” said Morrissey.
“The top 15 Breakaway ropers in the world will compete in ten rounds just like the NFR, but we will split in two days.”
Hopefully, Morrissey’s dedication will continue to pay off, as it has in the past when she was named the 2020 Wildfire Breakaway Champion and had placings at some of rodeo’s most prestigious events such as the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
“It’s a proud moment, it’s nice when everything you’ve worked so hard for comes together and you’re able to get rewarded for it,” said Morrissey.
“That’s my job, when I get my job done and get paid and rewarded, that’s what it’s all about, that’s why we do it.”
Whatever passions you hear calling, Morrissey encourages everyone to chase their dreams.
“You have to do what makes you happy, this is a pretty awesome sport and the western lifestyle, the western world, I think it’s the best,” Morrissey said.
“Between the ranchers and the farming and the agriculture and the rodeo world, the things that make the world go round, we’re all a part of it and that’s good. Anybody who’s interested, willing, able and capable I certainly encourage them to follow their passion and follow their dreams.”
