INFR World Champion Breakaway Roper Triumphs After Career-Threatening Injury

Megan Lunak's road back to the arena after a devastating injury in 2008

Megan Lunak | Megan Lunak

At the 2025 Indian National Finals Rodeo breakaway roping, Montana cowgirl, Megan Lunak rose to the top. Everyone in the South Point watched as the new champion made a victory lap aboard her little sorrel horse, but few could see the long and challenging road Lunak had taken to get there. 

In 2008, at a team roping practice, Lunak’s life took a dramatic turn. She threw a heel loop, roped the steer and dallied as normal. 

“The guy on the heading side, his horse was running off, so I took another dally to stop the steer,” Lunak said. “When I took that dally, I got my thumb sizzled off.”

It was a freak accident, she said. Lunak had been team roping and doing ranch work her entire life, and she’d never been caught in a dally before.

“It was the first and last time I caught my thumb in my dally,” she said with a laugh.

The pain was extreme as Lunak pulled back her roping glove to see that her thumb had been severed by the rope. As she looked down at her hand, though, the pain wasn’t on her mind.

“I wasn’t in a shock because of the pain or the gruesomeness,” Lunak said. “I was in shock because I just lost my thumb, it's the beginning of summer, and I live for roping. What am I gonna do?”

Lunak's Journey Back to a World Title

There was constant uncertainty after she lost her thumb, Lunak said. She went through several intense surgeries, and at times, she didn’t know if she would ever rope competitively again.

“They had to cut my forearm open because all of my tendons and ligaments from my finger popped back down into my forearm,” Lunak said. “I thought it was the end of my career at that time.” 

It took some time before Lunak could even hold a rope again, post-injury, she said. Even though the initial pain was gone, the surgeries and nerve damage continued to take a toll on her. 

“I don't know if people realize that when you lose a thumb, the nerve damage hurts so bad,” Lunak said. “There’s parts of your nerve that are still exposed from it getting sawed off by a steer. So, it was a lot of pain and confusion, but looking back, I really had some growth within that.”

Despite the challenges, the main thing on Lunak’s mind was how she could get back in the saddle and start roping again. Without her thumb, though, she would have to relearn how to swing and deliver a rope. So, she reached out to the man she knew could help: 8x NFR World Champion and Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer, Joe Beaver. 

Unselfish Help From an 8x World Champion

Joe Beaver | Fernando Sam-Sin

“I went to Joe’s school the year before, and he and I just really clicked,” Lunak said. “[I called him and said], ‘Joe, I cut my thumb off,’ and I could just hear him say, 'Well, why'd you go and do that?’”

Beaver invited Lunak to his next clinic to help her adjust to a new swing after the accident. To better guide her, he would tape his thumb to his palm and practice roping without it, so he could feel what she was going through, Lunak said.

Slowly, but surely, Lunak worked her way back into roping competitively. The accident happened in June 2008, she picked up a rope again that fall, and was entering rodeos by the next summer, Lunak said.

“I didn't come back winning,” she said. “But, at least I was entering.”

Years later, in her recent trip to the INFR, Lunak placed in two of the four rounds and ultimately took home the INFR title. She recalled the moment when she realized that all of her hard work had paid off.

“I looked up at the average on the scoreboard, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. I did not just win the world, did I?’” Lunak said. “They were waving me to go in [the arena] for the victory lap, and I wouldn't go, because I was looking at the scoreboard thinking, ‘Are you sure? This has been a long time coming.’”

Lunak’s story is an inspiration to many and a testament that with hard work and a strong support system, people can accomplish incredible things. 

“You can't stop believing in yourself,” Lunak said. “Don't be afraid to reach out for help. Those injuries and those problems, they're pretty common in rodeo world. Your fellow cowboys out there, like Joe Beaver keeping his thumb down to his palm… [they] want to give back and help.”

Years after the accident that threatened to end her career, Lunak continues to prove that you can always find your way back to the arena — maybe even to a world title. 

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