Shelby Boisjoli

By Patrick Everson

Shelby Boisjoli-Meged came into the 2021 Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping at No. 1 in the world standings. Unfortunately, she left in second place by a fraction, with Sawyer Gilbert finishing just $2,197 ahead of Boisjoli-Meged.

This year, Boisjoli-Meged entered the Wrangler NFR Breakaway again at No. 1 in the world. And she used that 2021 finish to her advantage.

“I learned from that experience a little bit, and it worked out,” Boisjoli-Meged said.

Indeed it deed. Competing in 10 go-rounds over two days – five rounds on Dec. 5, five more on Dec. 6 – at the South Point Arena, Boisjoli-Meged cashed in six go-rounds, including a Round 3 win and a tie for first in Round 2.

Boisjoli-Meged won an NFR Breakaway record $33,157 over the two days, ending the season with $197,706 – another record – to grab that coveted gold buckle.

Ten rounds in two days has its pluses and minuses, and Boisjoli-Meged has experienced both over the past few years. But if you’re on a roll, as she was this time around, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I think it can go both ways. It’s really hard to pull yourself out of it if you have a bad run, because it all happens so fast,” she said. “But it’s such a great advantage if you’re rolling and making good runs. You just want to keep running them.”

Boisjoli-Meged had very few mistakes in her 10 runs, as evidenced by her third-place finish in the NFR Breakaway average. She had a total elapsed time of 27.6 seconds on eight runs, trailing only average winner Cheyanne McCartney – the only roper with nine successful runs, in 32.2 seconds – and Bradi Good (26.2 seconds on eight runs).

“The key for me was if I did mess up, forget about it as fast as you can,” Boisjoli-Meged said. “That’s why I was able to have a good Finals. I recovered a lot faster from the misses.”

Last May, the then-Shelby Boisjoli married PRCA tie-down roper Haven Meged, who right now is making a run for his own world championship in the Wrangler NFR at the Thomas & Mack Center. In fact, Haven won Wednesday night’s seventh go-round of tie-down on one of his wife’s horses, setting an arena record of 6.4 seconds in the process. And he’s cashed a check every day from Rounds 2-8.

Haven already has one gold buckle, taking the tie-down roping world crown in 2019. Now, Shelby has one to match.

“It’s just a really weird feeling. Maybe it hasn’t quite set in yet,” she said. “I don’t feel any different as a person, but I definitely am proud of myself.”