Rainier teen claims reserve world championship at national junior rodeo

8.99 seconds.

Brooklynn Bell traveled over 1,800 miles and over 28 hours from Rainier to Des Moines, Iowa, for just that seemingly miniscule amount of time.

But in the junior high breakaway roping scene, 8.99 seconds is worth the trip and then some.
Bell, 14, took home the reserve world championship in girls breakaway roping at the National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) in Des Moines last week, finishing in second place and 1.08 seconds away from first place.

The homeschooled junior roper placed in both the first and second round, roping the calf in 2.81 seconds in round one Monday, June 24, and in 2.85 seconds in round two on Friday, June 27. With the top 20 ropers advancing to the short go round Saturday night, Bell roped the calf in 3.33 seconds to complete a tournament average of 2.997 seconds per round and adding up to 8.99 seconds total.

In the short go round on Saturday, Bell advanced to the top three with a chance to win the world championship. After she roped her calf in the final round, she wasn’t certain that her time would hold for a top-two finish.

“I was a little long, and I thought it might not hold. I was first when I caught my calf, and then the second girl went and she was the world champion, so I was like, ‘OK, I’m second,’” Bell said. “The last girl to go caught, and I thought that I was third because I didn’t see that she broke the barrier. I was like, ‘Oh well, third is pretty good, but I wish I got second.’ Then I called my mom and asked, ‘Did I get second or third?’ She was like, ‘The girl broke the barrier, so you’re the reserve world champion.’ I was in disbelief. I was super surprised.”

Bell, along with her horse Shirley, is the first girl from Washington to finish in the top three in the junior high finals for breakaway roping since 2017 and is the first Washington roper to place top two in at least the last 10 years. She received a reserve world champion belt buckle, three plaques for top 10 finishes in all three rounds, and about $2,000 in cash earnings.

“It means a lot to me because here in Washington, we don’t have the biggest rodeo group. We’re there, but there’s not as many girls,” Bell said. “It means a lot to me that I’m from a small town and I could go on a big stage to win that and represent our little town.”

This year’s finals marked the second straight summer in which Bell qualified for the NJHFR, but she made the bold decision last year to skip the trip to prepare for a shot at winning big this year. Her confidence in herself never wavered, and she put in the work in the gym and in the arena to gear up for the biggest stage of her young life.

“I knew it would come at some point in life,” Bell said of her reserve world title. “I didn’t know that it would be now, but I’ve always wanted it and I work hard. I wanted to be stronger and more prepared than this time last year. I was good, but I wasn’t at the level I am now. I didn’t want to spend all that money and drive that far just to not be able to have as good of a chance.”

Bell said the two biggest differences between last season and this season were her physical strength and being more aggressive as a roper. Last summer, she often hesitated to take her shot, but her confidence has grown through practices and competitions around the country. Bell hits the gym four days a week for 30 minutes to an hour, focusing on strengthening her back and shoulders.

As a result of her hard work, Bell said she handled the bright lights and pressure of the national stage better than any she had ever endured. Her mother Amanda said one of her daughter’s greatest strengths is that she doesn’t get fazed by pressure.

“It’s this crazy skill that she has. She may not rope the fastest time in a round, but she’s super consistent,” Amanda Bell said. “Her coach has done a really good job of teaching her how to rope correctly and to be consistent, and he creates a pressure environment at practice so that when she comes into these big stages, it doesn’t even faze her. I was thrilled that it was finally her time to shine.”

After returning from Iowa, Brooklynn Bell isn’t wasting any time getting back to work. She is preparing for amateur rodeos in the Northwest Pro Rodeo Association along with jackpots and the Vegas Tuffest World Junior World Championships in December.

The high school level of competition is next, but Bell has no doubt that she can maintain the success she’s had at the junior high level and continue her quest for a pro career.

“It’s probably my mentality,” she said of what gives her confidence moving into the next level. “Being on that big stage and knowing that I can go compete at a big level, that helped my confidence a lot.”

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