Former Wyoming Cowgirl, Shawn Chape, Wins First Australian National Championship

Shawn Chape was born and raised in northeastern Wyoming, but now lives "down under" in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia. One thing that has not changed - Chape has always been a standout rodeo competitor.

This past week at the Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft and Rodeo Association (ABCRA) National Finals Rodeo, Chape earned her first Australian National Championship in the breakaway roping. Throughout the week, she won the first round (1.9 seconds), placed fourth in Round 2 (3.4 seconds), and won the third round (1.69 seconds). This earned her the NFR Aggregrate Championship, NFR Fast Time, and the arena record.

Chape is multi-event cowgirl too- she finished the year not only as the ABCRA 2024 Champion Breakaway Roper, also the ABCRA 2024 Champion Rookie Barrel Racer. Chape has built a new life in a new country and was kind enough to tell me about her journey.

Chape and Rio prepare to rope — Chape and Rio | Photo courtesy of Shawn Chape / Photographer Pretty Punchy Media

Q: I would love to hear about your transition from rodeoing in the United States to Australia. Tell me a little bit about the differences between the two and finding your stride in a new country, with new horses.

Chape: Rodeo in Australia is very family oriented. The majority of the time it is on a Saturday, and will run all day starting somewhere between 8-10 in the morning, and running all the rodeo events and junior barrels, steer riding, and breakaway. As a whole is much the same as back home, just on a much smaller scale. It’s tough at the top of all of the events still.

When I first got here I mounted out on a kids (Heath Nichols) back up calf horse - I rode him for quite a while, while I got a young horse Glen had bought going. I had some really tough luck and lost him to colic. Over the next two years I mounted out on several really nice calf horses while I got another one going and started seasoning. Lightning never strikes the same place twice (or does it?) and I lost my second horse to colic.

I had a four year old grade gelding in the pasture who had been showing so much talent, but he was too far away. So we bought another horse, because at this point I was sick of mounting out. I rode for a year and a bit until I couldn’t deny what was in front of me.

Q: Tell me about the horsepower you have now.

Chape: We bought Rio (13 year old grade gelding ) as an uncut, unhandled two-year-old for $1000 or something like that. The place just had all these stud colts out in a pasture like cattle. We went and picked him and some others out. He had presence from the start and he’s honestly the reason we went back and bought them after we looked at them. A dark rich bay, with a big white star and a long tail. He was a handful and a lot of work at the start, but man once we started pen roping calves I knew he was something special.

The first handful of rodeos I took him to I just waited for those seasoning hiccups to happen and they just never did. He show up at those rodeos with as much confidence as I’d ever felt in a horse. He’s just a winner. Over the years he’s given me hundreds of shots to win a lot of money that I missed. But I can tell you with 100% confidence, in 7 years, I can count on one hand the amount of times he’s ever cost me. He has so much confidence and try; he genuinely thinks he’s the greatest.

Q: I noticed your husband, Glen, pushed all of your calves and I gather you guys work together a lot, so tell me a little bit about that.

Chape: I can probably count on one hand the amount of times Glen HASN'T pushed my calves. It’s very convenient, because we talk about my calf and the start and he knows when to push hard or when to just keep them to the front. I’m very lucky to have him. And not to mention all of the box opening he does and the sports psychology support he has to give me!

Q: Tell me how that insanely fast 1.69 second run felt and the finals as a whole.

Chape: The girl in first place (Katie), she and I battled it out really for the last half of the season. She roped really well and we went into the finals with me $543 behind. The first round of the finals I placed first and Katie was fifth. That moved me $267 to the lead. Night two, Katie won the round and I was fourth. Now I’m back $462 behind. So going into the last round, I knew I couldn’t back off. I also knew if I backed off I would likely overthink and that’s when I make mistakes.

I got the opportunity to rope before her which was really lucky. I’d already worked out what I wanted to see and when I rode in the box 1.69 was not the game plan. It was just to go make the best run I could and rope at my first opportunity. When my rope broke away I knew I was pretty fast but I was thinking 1.9 or two flat maybe. When they announced I was 1.69 and broke the arena record, I didn’t know if i was going to laugh or cry it was such a chaotic moment.

Chape and Rio rope a calf — Chape and Rio | Photo courtesy of Shawn Chape / Photographer Gavin Little The Chute Shooter