Just like many of her teenage peers, Piper Toon loves to shop. Clothes, shoes . . . it’s all good fun for the fifteen-year-old from Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
But in stark contrast to most of her peers, Toon’s favorite thing is shopping for her horses.
“I have a shopping addiction,” Toon admits. “And I love to buy anything for my horses.”
For rodeo folks, it makes total sense that Toon would spoil her equine partners. After all, they’re the ones helping the incoming high school freshman reach some lofty goals in the arena.
One of those goals is to qualify for the Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo (WCJR), held July 22–26, 2025, at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma. With a payout north of $400,000, the WCJR is one of the world’s richest youth rodeos and is a collaborative effort between the Lazy E and the World Champions Rodeo Alliance’s (WCRA) Division Youth (DY).
Open to athletes aged 13 to 19, the WCJR offers three paths to qualification: 1) advance through qualifying rounds, 2) win a Qualifier Series event, or 3) rank among the top 12 on the DY Leaderboard by nominating and earning points through the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ). As of now, only the Open Entry option remains available for athletes still looking to compete at the 2025 WCJR.
Toon took full advantage of the nomination route this season and is currently ranked No. 1 in the D25 Youth Barrel Racing standings, No. 2 in Pole Bending, and No. 4 in the All-Around.
“The Lazy E was one of Sophie’s favorites, and it’s one of my favorites too,” Toon noted of her good barrel horse, CP Famous Miss Kitty. Living less than two hours from the world-famous arena, Toon has competed on the E’s venerated ground many times, including at major barrel races like the Pink and Ruby Buckles.
The oldest of four girls, Toon grew up with horses thanks to her team roper dad, J.R., and her horse trainer mom, Heather.
“Dad used to rope a lot, but he got too busy with his welding career,” Toon explained. “And Mom was a trainer and helps me train the colts we have, but she works a lot of hours now too.”
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Though Toon has been horseback nearly all her life—and competing since she was four—it was a friend, Chloe Hellams, who inspired her to make the jump from jackpotter to rodeo girl.
“My best friend Chloe got me started,” Toon said. “I just started with the junior high school rodeos last year.”
Toon played basketball and was a member of the track team in the Beggs Public School system. Now that she’s entering high school, she will homeschool and leave other sports behind.
“Rodeo has become my life,” she laughed. “I just started breakaway roping. I’m not entering yet, just practicing. And I’m going to start goat tying again. I did that when I was younger, so I want to get back into that too.”
Even with just two events currently, Toon is climbing the ultra-competitive All-Around race in the DY, chasing down the cash bonuses awarded to World Champions in each discipline and the All-Around in both age divisions. World Champions are the top point earners across the year-long season, including the WCJR.
“It’s definitely a goal to be in more events next year and have a better chance [at the All-Around],” Toon said.
For now, she’s focused on the upcoming National Junior High School Finals Rodeo, which will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, one month ahead of the WCJR. Apart from the chance to earn national titles and accompanying prizes, scholarships, and cash, the event presents additional opportunities for Toon.
“I’ll be able to enter the jackpots before the finals start and nominate those for Guthrie, so hopefully we’ll pick up some more points.”
The Oklahoma Junior High School Rodeo Association’s events have served as Toon’s primary point-harvesting opportunities, particularly in the pole bending.
“I nominate the junior high rodeos and the bigger barrel races and jackpots in the barrels, but in the poles, it’s just the junior high rodeos because there aren’t any pole bending jackpots that are just for youth,” Toon explained.
A highly successful 2025 OKJHSRA State Finals vaulted Toon to the top of the DY Leaderboard in the last two months: she won the average in the barrels and finished second in the pole bending, securing the OKJHSRA State Championship in the poles.
Perhaps most impressive was the fact that Toon rode borrowed horses to the wins.
“I ran my good horse Sophie last fall, but she’s retired now,” Toon noted, adding that a nagging injury prevented the mare from continuing to compete. During her brilliant career, the daughter of Epic Leader carried Toon to a reserve title at the Junior World Finals in 2021, a win at the Bonus Race Finals, and the Barrel Futurities of America Youth Championship last November, among others. Sophie has now joined the Toons’ broodmare band, with hopes she’ll produce future winners.
To finish her season, Toon’s friend Hellams came to the rescue.
“I ran Chloe’s gelding Ace all spring, and we went into the finals sixth and ended up third for the year,” Toon said. Ten-year-old Ace is registered as Sun Frost Firewater.
In the poles, the unregistered Ginger carried the load.
“We’re leasing Ginger, who is my mom’s best friend’s horse,” Toon said. Breanna Roper rode the now-20-year-old mare during her college rodeo career.
“We’re moving pretty good right now with the horses we’ve got,” Toon said.
Toon hopes to eventually earn a college scholarship to continue her rodeo career, but for now, she is zeroing in on the summer’s top youth competitions.
“We’ll go to a few races, working on getting my confidence up,” she said. “I do a three-barrel drill just to keep my horses loose and work on my hands. We do a lot of long trotting too.”
“Just training and tuning up so we are where we need to be.”
For more information on the WCJR, visit World Championship Junior Rodeo, WCRA Division Youth, and WCRA/Virtual Rodeo Qualifier.