2013 Cruel Girl Year End
Champion
Jimmi Jo Montera
2013 Cinch USTRC National
Finals of Team Roping
October 2013
By Melinda Clements
Jimmi
Jo Montera has been roping for a long time. Growing up near Longmont, Colorado roping has always been
her way of life. She is
competitive and strives to get better and better with each passing day.
Therefore,
it is no wonder Montera won the 2013 Cruel Girl Year End Champion award in the
USTRC. She will take home a Martin
Championship Trophy Saddle for her efforts. She won $43,907 during the year as a competitor.
“I’ve
come close a few times but never won it before,” she commented. “I guess you
always have it in the back of your mind and you always try to do well at the
big ropings like the Finals. The USTRC always puts on a good Finals. With the number of entries, the money,
the chances to rope they just do such a great job. They are so organized and you know exactly what is going on
and when you rope. It is just a
great roping to go to. I’m very
proud to have won the Cruel Girl Year End Award. I think I’ll probably ride
this saddle because it is a beautiful saddle.”
Overall,
Montera and her husband had a good Finals this year. Between the two of them they probably pocketed about $39,000
to $40,000 for their efforts.
“I’m
pretty happy to do the best I can,” she continued. “It is a pretty fun few days
to spend at the Finals and the roping is such a good one. The weather turned
out great and it was fun to be there.”
When
asked if she had any advice for a little girl coming up and wanting to rope she
commented that being a girl should never keep them from trying.
“Don’t
put any limitations on what you are capable of just because you are a girl,”
she elaborated. “Just because you are a girl does not mean you cannot do it if
that is what you want to do. With
all the mechanical roping dummies these days you can learn to rope safely and
correctly. There is so much more
information out there to get better at a younger age. There were not any little kids roping when I was younger and
roping. There are lots of little
boys carrying ropes around. The
opportunity is there for girls as well.
It starts at the Jr. Looper stage and I wish there were more girls
participating. I think we should
go ahead and offer them the opportunity to rope. Girls should just get in the middle of it and participate.”
Montera
is a good example for anyone to follow. She has a strong competitive edge,
never limits herself and ropes with extreme intensity. In the practice pen she sets up a lot
of different scenarios to improve her competitive edge. In her opinion horsemanship makes the
roping easier.
“We
rope and mix it up in the practice pen,” she elaborated. “We create different
little scenarios that give us something to work at. We practice a lot. We might do a pretend four-steer average
or a short go round run. Horsemanship
is such a huge aspect of roping.”
In essence it is one thing to practice and or practice productively.
Using
her horse Rango at the USTRC National Finals, Montera was very pleased with how
well he responded and worked.
“I
was a little worried about how he would react with all the music and activity,”
she explained, “but he did really well and worked great. I was proud at how well he did.”
When
you visit with Montera you realize she has a great love and devotion to her
sport. She spends a great deal of
time working to be better and improve on a day-to-day basis. She sees team roping as a continually
growing sport and it is obvious she wants to be a part of that growth.
Montera
is a good example to follow and a strong competitor. With the 2013 Cruel Girl Championship Award tucked under her
belt I think you will find she will continue to grow and get better. Roping will always be a major part of
what she does.
“You
work to be the best you can be,” she commented. “Don’t ever put limitations on
what you can do.”
It
is good solid advice for anyone in any walk of life. Perhaps that is why Jimmi Jo Montera is an excellent
representative of what a Cruel Girl Champions should be. The fact she just
loves to rope is very evident and you never have to work when you are doing the
things you love. Good Luck, Jimmi
Jo Montera, and thank you for all you do for our sport!
