GOSHEN COUNTY – The average length of time for a healthy adult to exhale a breath of air is two seconds.
Two seconds – 2.05 seconds to be exact – was the time it took Hadley Thompson to complete her run in the short-go for breakaway roping at the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in Rock Springs on Saturday, July 19.
In the length of time it takes a typical adult to exhale, Thompson spurs her horse from the roping box, generates speed, locks in on the path of a calf racing across the arena, lifts the rope, loops the rope over her head and takes aim before throwing the rope over a calf’s head and neck to complete the catch.
“In breakaway (roping), it definitely all happens really fast,” Thompson said.
There is no margin for error. No time for second-guessing. Decisions must be split second before it’s all over in an exhale.
Thompson’s ability to harness speed, precision and skill for a perfect roping run in 2.05 seconds is the result of thousands of practice runs over weeks, months and years.
“You put the work in – you make run after run after run in the practice pen,” Thompson remarked. “It’s really all just muscle memory. My mind and my body, they just do it. I’ve made so many runs in the practice pen.”
Thompson’s sizzling time in the short-go for breakaway roping was the fastest in the event throughout the week-long NHSFR at the Sweetwater Events Complex. The 2.05-second run was also more than enough for Thompson to bag the high school world title in breakaway roping with an average of 7.24 seconds.
Thompson also captured the world championship in goat tying following a blistering 6.31-second run in the short-go on Saturday to finish first in the average at 20.02 seconds.
Thompson also competed in barrel racing and team roping with her partner Asa Pixley from Sundance at the NHSFR.
Once the officials at NHSFR crunched the numbers and scores from the week, Thompson found herself the 2025 all-around cowgirl world champion with a grand total of 1,520 points.
“It feels great to know all of my hard work has paid off,” Thompson said of her accomplishment.
In 2024, Thompson finished second in the average for both breakaway roping and goat tying at the NHSFR before earning the all-around reserve championship. In 2025, Thompson set her sights on gold.
“This year I wanted to come back and win them all,” Thompson said.
Three intense rounds
Thompson finished the first round of breakaway roping in 15th place with a time of 2.95 seconds. In the second-go, Thompson battled her way to No. 1, clocking her run in at 2.24 seconds and putting her in the top position going into the short-go on Saturday.
“I came back (to the short-go) high call, meaning I came back with the fastest time on two heads,” Thompson explained. “I had a pretty good lead. I didn’t really have to go and be fast or anything at all (in the short-go), but I ended up going really fast and winning the short-round as well.”
Thompson’s “really fast” short-go run of 2.05 seconds left the competition in the dust. The second-place finisher on Saturday, Makenna Morford of Arizona, clocked in at 2.59 seconds, placing Thompson ahead by a 0.54-second margin with more than enough time to spare for the world title.
Goat tying commenced with a first-place finish for Thompson in the opening round with a time of 6.54 seconds. The second round proved tougher, with Thompson placing 11th at 7.17 seconds.
“The second round came around and I didn’t have the best run – didn’t have the best goat,” Thompson said. “I did what I could and kind of got by him.”
Thompson went into the short-go as high call again with the best overall time from the two previous rounds. The breakaway roping portion of the short-go wrapped up shortly before the goat tying, giving Thompson just enough time to prepare for her run.
“I just tried to do the same things I did in the first two rounds – I didn’t do anything special,” Thompson said. “I just went in there and did my job. Whatever happens, happens.”
Thompson burst from the box in the goat tying short-go on her horse, Salty, bearing down on the goat. She dismounted at full speed, goat tying string secured between her teeth.
“When you get off that horse, you kind of get sling-shotted, you could say,” Thompson said. “The momentum – the horse going as fast as it does – pushes you so you don’t really have to run on your own.”
Exactly 6.31 seconds after leaving the box, Thompson raised her arms, the goat tied at her feet. Thompson won the short-go with 0.62 seconds to spare over the second place finisher, Augusta Warren of Iowa, to propel her to the No. 1 spot in the average at 20.02 seconds.
A valuable partner
Success at a rodeo is only possible with a trusted horse, Thompson was quick to point out. Thompson relied on her horse and partner Salty in both the breakaway roping and goat tying at the NHSFR.
Salty is the informal “barn name” for Thompson’s horse. Her registered name is CD Smokin’ Miss Kitty.
Thompson acquired Salty as a yearling and put in all the work to train her mare into an expert roping and goat-tying horse. Salty is six now with several years of experience under the saddle.
“(Salty) has always been super easy through and the training and she is willing to work,” Thompson said. “We have a really good connection because I have done everything with her since she was super young. She’s a huge blessing and she gives me her best. I couldn’t have done (the NFHSR) without her.”
Rodeo involves significant travel and Salty is Thompson’s faithful traveling companion, competing in rodeos across the region and country.
“There hasn’t been a place I’ve been in a long time that she’s not with me,” Thompson said. “She goes everywhere with me.”
Salty was named the American Quarter Horse Association girls’ horse of the year at the NHSFR and earned the top equine award in both goat tying and breakaway roping.
A lifestyle
Thompson grew up on the family ranch and started riding horses before she was old enough to remember.
“We rode horses every day on the ranch since I was really, really young,” Thompson said.
By the time she was six or seven, Thompson was competing in local youth events like the Little Britches Rodeo.
The purpose of the Little Britches program was to give young cowgirls and cowboys exposure to the rodeo arena and competition to “get their confidence built up,” Thompson explained.
Thompson soon outgrew the Little Britches Rodeo and eventually moved on to the fall and spring circuit with the Wyoming High School Rodeo Association. She also competes in rodeos organized for high school athletes across the country, including the American Rodeo at the Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, hosted annually in April.
Thompson’s exceptional skills in goat tying, roping and barrel racing are the result of untold hours of practice, 365 days a year over the course of a majority of Thompson’s life.
In the winter, Thompson occasionally uses an indoor arena at a friends’ ranch. The family is also able to travel to Texas or Arizona to practice during the winter months from time to time. On most winter days, though, Thompson is outside at home, braving the wind or snow with Salty or the other horses.
“For the most part, we just tough it out and rope outside,” Thompson said. “You just gotta put on an extra coat.”
Thompson rarely misses a day of practice on her horses and can even be found on Christmas, New Years or a birthday working on roping or goat tying.
“We are out there every single day,” Thompson said. “Very, very few days go by where we don’t rope or tie. It’s our life. We rodeo year-round. It never stops.”
Thompson credited her strong work ethic to her parents and siblings – all avid rodeo fans or competitors. Thompson’s sister, Haiden Thompson, was the 2025 College National Finals Rodeo all-around champion and is beginning a professional career.
High School rodeo differs from other sports because there are no coaches. Hadley Thompson relies on her older sister, Haiden, and parents for advice and feedback. Thompson’s mother typically films her daughter’s runs at rodeos and Thompson devotes plenty of time to watching the film.
Otherwise, rodeo is about self-motivation.
“Rodeo is definitely all you,” Thompson said. “You gotta have a lot of responsibility and accountability. With town sports, like basketball, you’re on a team. You can work as hard as you want, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the team. What I like the most about rodeo is it is based all on how much hard work I put into it.”
The thousands of practice sessions eventually pay off.
“As you get older and do rodeo more and more, it kind of becomes a feeling,” Thompson said. “If I do mess up in any event, I can feel it and know what I did wrong because I’ve made so many runs.”
For Thompson, while some days are tough, the year-round rodeo routine rarely feels like a job.
“I love rodeo,” Thompson said. “It’s my passion. It’s something I want to do for the rest of my life.”
A strong community
While rodeo promotes plenty of self-reliance, there is a strong sense of community among cowgirls and cowboys in Wyoming and beyond. A helping hand is never far.
“In the rodeo world, everyone is family,” Thompson said. “Everyone knows everyone. I would do anything for anyone at the rodeo and I know they would all do the same for me.”
Competition can be fierce between rivals in high school rodeo like in any other sport, but at the end of the day, friendships remain firm.
“We all want to win and beat each other,” Thompson said. “But at the same time, we’re all there for each other.”
Rodeo athletes from across the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia compete at the NFHSR. Transporting a rodeo horse from Australia or New Zealand to southwestern Wyoming is virtually impossible. As a result, families like the Thompsons loan their horses to contestants from overseas, allowing Thompson to get to know some of the cowgirls and cowboys from Down Under.
Thompson is looking forward to the upcoming high school rodeo season – her final year in the saddle for the Wyoming High School Rodeo Association. Plans beyond high school are still to be determined, but the sky is the limit for Thompson.
Thompson expressed her deepest gratitude to “my Lord and Savior” before thanking others.
“I couldn’t have done this without my horses, my parents, my siblings and my sponsors,” Thompson said. “They all do so much for me.”
Thompson advised young cowgirls just starting out in the sport to put their noses to the grindstone.
“You gotta put in the work. Trust the process.”
