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An Ambassador to Our Sport
| | By: Melinda Clements | 2009 Cruel Girl Year End Champion—Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
JoAnn Merritt
By Melinda Clements
“I cannot think of a greater honor or privilege than to be associated with such an elite and professional group of ropers as the Cruel Girl Team Ropers,” said Greeley, Colorado Header, JoAnn Merritt upon finding out she had won the Cruel Girl Year End Champion award.
While Merritt competed in several USTRC Affiliate events and the High Plains Regional Finals this year, she topped the list of lady ropers by earning $100,000 at the Reno Rodeo Invitational Team Roping in Reno, Nevada with partner and husband Lory.
“What an honor to be associated with such a group of ladies that rope as well as they all do. They are truly professional and certainly the best in the business.”
Merritt, who grew up on a ranch in Wyoming, has been roping her entire life and she treasures and values the cowboy traditions and lifestyle she and her husband have chosen to live. Merritt has followed the rodeo lifestyle from a very young age by making her way up from the ranks of college rodeo where she was a breakaway roper and team roper. The Western and Rodeo lifestyle is deeply ingrained into who she is as a person and she is very proud to be raising her kids in the same traditional lifestyle.
“This is lifestyle we treasure and have chosen to continue for ourselves,” she explained. “Our kids rope and rodeo and we practice a lot at home. It is definitely a family affair when it comes to roping.”
Merritt emphasizes the importance of the Cruel Girl sponsorship for women team ropers and believes that without sponsorship the sport would suffer.
“The Cruel Girl Championships and their sponsorship have so opened up a lot for female ropers,” Merritt elaborated. “The support system of the sponsorships the USTRC has keeps our sport alive. The sponsorships are essential and they keep the industry growing and expanding. It all comes about with the sponsorships and their willingness to support team roping and rodeo and keep it going. We could not rope or enjoy our lifestyle and the western heritage we all love so much if it wasn’t for groups of people and companies being willing to back us and support us.”
Merritt was awarded a special made trophy Martin Saddle for being the year-end Cruel Girl Champion. If Merritt had any advice for up and coming young ladies who choose to rope it would be to set goals and strive to achieve those goals.
“Don’t be intimidated,” she commented. “It is okay to rope like a man and still act like and be a lady. Men like to rope with women because women like the average. Women are consistent and very tough. Women have found their niche in team roping and to win this Cruel Girl Championship is kind of like icing on the cake for me. It is a culmination of hard work and my advice is be prepared for hard work and keep your goals ever present and work hard toward those goals. I just appreciate Cruel Girl for recognizing women team ropers and I appreciate their backing. As long as we have sponsors like that younger, up and coming female team ropers will have a chance to excel as well. Dreams are important, goals are important and sponsorships allow us the opportunity to achieve those dreams.”
Staying busy with her kids has limited Merritt’s time on the road to rope for herself. Yet, Team Roping is such an incremental part of her life she will not give it up and figures she and her husband will get back to it full time once the kids have established their own niche.
“We spend time with our kids and roping is important to them,” Merritt explained. “I have a son in college and twin boys at home. We have three headers and two heelers so you can understand how team roping fits into our lives. Roping at home takes a great deal of time and for us it is important time we spend together.”
Proud of her awards and proud of the Cruel Girl year end recognition; Merritt is a very humble and appreciative woman. She certainly is a good representative of what a Cruel Girl Champion should be. She believes in the sport, she lives the lifestyle and supports it to the max within her family as well as out in the arena.
“It is the sponsors honoring an elite group of female ropers that makes me the most proud,” Merritt concluded. “I’m proud to be a part of that and I thank every roping and rodeo sponsor out there that is doing all they can do to keep our sport, our lifestyle and our western heritage alive and growing. That is what it is all about. It is a lifestyle we want for our kids and for our future and the sponsors make it happen.”
Posted: Nov.4, 2009 |
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