Trick rider Piper Yule performs at the Lethbridge and District Pro Rodeo during Whoop-Up Days, August 26, 2022. (Photo: C.Gibson/LNN)

By Cathy Gibson

Ladies events break through the gates at Whoop-Up Days Pro Rodeo

Sep 2, 2022 | 1:45 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Lethbridge and District Exhibition and Pro Rodeo entertained crowds at Whoop-Up Days 2022 with adrenaline-pumping Saddle Bronc, Bull Riding, Barrel Racing, and other crowd favourites, plus some new action-packed attractions.

This year, two new events hit the Whoop-Up Days rodeo circuit: high-speed Warrior Relay Races, and an exciting new event called Ladies Breakaway Roping.

READ MORE: The rush of Warrior Relay Races at Whoop-Up Days.

Ladies Barrel Racing at Whoop-Up Days Pro Rodeo in Lethbridge, August 26, 2022. (Photo: LNN)

Traditionally, Ladies Barrel Racing was the only female event at the rodeo, but this year, the new Ladies Breakaway Roping event broke out of the chutes.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

According to the Lethbridge Exhibition, the event is a variation of calf roping, involving one calf and one mounted rider. What’s different from the traditional men’s calf roping event, is that the calf is roped, but not thrown and tied.

The first Ladies Breakaway Roping event at Whoop-Up Days in Lethbridge, August 26, 2022. (Photo: LNN)

Ladies Breakaway Roping made its debut at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in 2021, and Kendal Pierson from Wardlow, Alberta, north of Brooks, was the inaugural champion at the national event. Pierson also competed in the new rodeo event during Whoop-Up Days, and she says it’s exciting every time she competes.

“It’s an adrenaline rush like no other,” said Pierson. “Every time you’re back in that box. I mean, it is for money, but we do it because we love it, and that feeling alone, it just excites you.”

Kendal Pierson, the first Ladies Breakaway Roping National Champion 2021, competed at the Whoop-Up Days Pro Rodeo in Lethbridge, August 27, 2022. (Photo: LNN)

Pierson says another great aspect of performing in the rodeo is that it’s a family affair.

“I just love it because everyone’s a family,” said Pierson. “My dad’s a professional bareback rider, my sister is a professional trick rider, and I’ve just gotten to love the lifestyle, and this lifestyle is like no other.”

Kendal Pierson’s sister, Shelby Pierson, also performs at the rodeo in a different capacity. She is a three-time Canadian trick-riding champion, and she entertained the local crowds with death-defying tricks during Whoop-Up Days in Lethbridge.

“I’m happy to be here at Whoop-Up Days and I’m having a blast,” said Shelby Pierson. “The fact that I get to ride horses and do what I love every day is pretty awesome.”

Shelby Pierson, a three-time national champion trick rider and a student at the University of Lethbridge, performed at the Whoop-Up Days rodeo in Lethbridge, August 27, 2022. (Photo: LNN)

Shelby Pierson performs in about 60 shows every summer, and she says nothing compares to the feeling she gets when she is in front of a crowd.

“You feed off the crowd, and it’s super fun to perform in front of a crowd,” Pierson said. “The adrenaline you get from it is incomparable. I’ve been skydiving, I’ve been bungee jumping, and still this is like, I don’t know, there’s like no better feeling than this.”

The Lethbridge and District Exhibition says this was the first year for Ladies Breakaway Roping, and the first time in almost a decade that a professionally sanctioned rodeo was part of Whoop-Up Days. Both Pierson sisters say they were excited to be a part of the action at this year’s event.

“We’re excited to be here,” said Kendal Pierson. “I just want to thank Lethbridge. Thank you guys for having us.”

READ MORE: The rush of Warrior Relay Races at Whoop-Up Days.

READ MORE: Whoop-Up Days organizers excited for continued growth

READ MORE: Thunderstorm stops rides and rodeo at Whoop-Up Days

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.