(cheerful music) - When I was 11 years old, I was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis, which is a bacterial meningitis.

I had been riding for many years before then, but my parents used this horse that we had looked at as a push to be like, "If you get well, we are going to do our dangdest to get you this horse."

And you know, once I heard that, I was just set to get out of the hospital and get home.

And my parents, whenever I was driving up the driveway, had him in our front pasture.

And I can like still vividly see him running around and just, I was the happiest little girl that day.

(cheerful music) By getting Elvis, he pushed me to be stronger every day 'cause when I got home, I wasn't necessarily just healed up and ready to rock and roll.

I had a weak immune system and I had to really get my health back up to 100%.

And knowing that he was outside and that I was inside really made me do everything I possibly could to get outside to ride him.

Elvis is my best friend for almost 23 years and I got to have many accomplishments with him throughout Little Britches, high school rodeo, college rodeo and amateur rodeo.

Pacman is the horse that I rope off of now.

He's a nine-year-old gelding and I've owned him for four years.

(upbeat country music) My horse's personality is so silly.

He, when I first got him, was kind of quiet and didn't have much of a personality.

Throughout the last, like, year and a half, I would say, I really cracked into that personality and now he like smiles and everything.

But yeah, his personality is so goofy.

When I unloaded him here, he started bucking at the trailer because he was away from the other horse.

And he just has such a quirky attitude, like, "Okay, what's the next adventure?

Where are we at?"

And so he keeps me on my toes, that's for sure.

(Korah laughs) I had heard some of the bigger red ones were a little stronger, by the looks of that video I was sent.

I think that's what it'll be, but hopefully we'll make a run of it.

(upbeat country music) I started breakaway roping when I was, I think, like four years old.

And so it was kind of just what my family did, was rope.

And I didn't start competing until I was 11 in the breakaway roping.

But ever since I started roping at the rodeos, it just caught like fire and I couldn't quit.

- [Woman On Video] Go, go, go, go!

Korah, go, go!

Get in there.

(upbeat rock music) - I'm here today with my sister.

She's also a breakaway roper.

She is typically my traveling partner, and my husband as well.

He just retired, which he'll say he quit, but I say he retired from the saddle bronc riding.

He was a bronc rider for 20 years.

So we typically, us three, will go up and down the road.

And the breakaway roping is new to the pro rodeos the last four years.

So it's been a joy to be able to do what my husband did for many years before I did now at the same caliber as what he's competed at for so many years.

(upbeat country music) So breakaway is new to the pro rodeo level.

It's not a new sport overall.

Breakaway's been included at the Little Britches level, or the young kid level.

It's been included at the college level and the amateur level.

But four years ago, they added it to the PRCA and WPRA.

And so it's been a journey.

Not all rodeos have it yet, but each year there's more and more rodeos that are adding it.

So before breakaway was added to the pro rodeos, barrel racing was the only event for women.

(upbeat country music) I really think that the sport's really starting to open up to understanding the importance of having women a part of this industry.

We play such a big part of it in many other areas of the horse industry that it only makes sense now to have it at the pro level as well.

(upbeat country music) I think this lifestyle is so addicting because it's an adrenaline rush.

You work so hard, and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't.

And I think just knowing how close you are to meeting your goals and your dreams just keeps pushing you along and it makes you want more.

- [Announcer] Oh my!

Ooh, Sydney!

- We had a little fun, anyway.

(laughs) So rodeo has taken me on a journey that has pretty much created the person who I am.

If it wasn't for rodeo, I probably wouldn't have gone to college and rodeoed through my college.

A lot of what I've done for work has been through horses and having that knowledge of rodeo.

And so just being where I am today, it all falls back on being a part of rodeo.

(upbeat country music)