Just east of San Francisco, there's a stretch of California where cowboys have ruled for generations. Here, the day begins the way it always has: same boots, same spurs, same sky full of dust.

Except today, this isn't your typical cowboy. In fact, this isn't a boy at all.

"It's freedom to me," said Jillian Murray.

Murray is a fifth-generation rancher and a professional breakaway roper, a rodeo event defined by speed and snap, where the clock stops the instant the rope breaks free.

With her mom, Dora, on the stopwatch and her dad, Jeff, at the gate, she practiced until precision feels like instinct, chasing the fractions of a second that separate the good from the great.

Her personal best, 1.8 seconds, was fast enough to make her the number two breakaway rookie woman athlete on the Cal

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