Taylor Munsell doesn’t remember the first time she picked up a rope, but she’s now becoming a standout name in the breakaway roping world.
Before making her mark in the event, she grew up team roping, never imagining breakaway roping would become her future career.
That future was nearly cut short in high school, before it even began. After visiting a doctor in Oklahoma City, Munsell was diagnosed with a shoulder injury that raised serious concerns. She underwent reconstructive surgery just two months before leaving for college on a full rodeo scholarship at Northwestern State University.
Doctors told her she’d likely never regain more than 75% normal function in that shoulder again, but Munsell had other plans. Her hauling partner at the time, Joe, told her that they were talking about the average person and she is not average.
Just six weeks after surgery, she was back in the arena, shifting her focus to breakaway roping. She went on to win the 2019 College National Finals title during her junior year.
Now a four-time National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier, Munsell continues to prove there are no limits.
“You can have setbacks. There’s no certain age you have to start—I didn’t even want to breakaway rope until I was 20, and that was after a major shoulder reconstruction,” she said.
Catch Munsell in action as she competes in the Women’s Rodeo World Championship, which kicks off May 12, exclusively on the Cowboy Channel.