The cream of the crop rose to the top at the 37th annual Barrel Futurities of America World Championships in Guthrie, Oklahoma, from November 11–18, 2023.
From running down the alley of the Thomas and Mack Center Arena into the roaring crowd of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, to feeling the speakers boom under the vast expanse of AT&T Center competing for a $1 million paycheck in the Final Four of The American Rodeo, to taking the pressure of the gamble of a colt’s first run of its life for $100,000 in a slot race, the title winners at this year’s Barrel Futurities of America World Championships have respectively experienced it all on the biggest stages of barrel racing. However, earning a BFA championship still stands out among the rest and remains one of their biggest career goals, even for the most successful riders who’ve competed far and wide at the highest levels of the sport.
Each 2023 BFA champion’s title at the crowning aged event represents a special distinction in their individual careers.
BFA World Futurity Champion and Reserve Champion Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi and Tres Chasin Babe PZ and Chitichiti Bangbang
Brittany Tonozzi just can’t be stopped. Her total domination of both the rodeo world and futurity world in 2023 continued in Guthrie during BFA week, as she rode her two homebred and -trained 2019 Tres Seis mares Tres Chasin Babe PZ and Chitichiti Bangbang to the BFA World Championship Futurity title and Reserve Championship, respectively, just as she did at the Pink Buckle a month prior.
Brittany won the BFA World Championship Derby in 2015 aboard Kisskiss Bangbang — her 2023 futurity reserve champion mare’s dam — and has now finally added the title to her resume that all futurity trainers dream of winning.
“The BFA was one of the bigger events I ever attended when I was young. I was 14 or 15, and my parents brought me up to Oklahoma City, and I ran in the Youth and the Sweepstakes. I had my horse ‘Leroy’ (Lances Ugly Boy) I made the [National Finals Rodeo] on, and he did really well up there. Ever since going to that event, in my mind the BFA has been one of the standout events because of that,” Brittany said. “Winning the Derby world title [in 2015] and now the Futurity world title is icing on the cake. It’s one of those things I think every futurity trainer’s goal is to win.”
Tres Chasin Babe PZ, bred, raised and trained by 17-time Wrangler NFR qualifier Brittany and her team roper husband Garrett Tonozzi and now owned by Teton Ridge, took home the title for $38,126. The mare out of Brittany’s NFR mare Babe On The Chase by Chasin Firewater out of Streakin Six Babe by Streakin Six clocked a 15.168 to come into the Finals as the third-fastest qualifiers behind Caroline Boucher’s 15.102 and Craig Brooks’ 15.160.
“Rosie” locked it down in the Finals with a 15.099 for the fastest time of the entire BFA Futurity and winning average of 30.267.
“I just let her cruise to the first barrel and let her nail it, then go on from there. Not that I think she would run off, but she can get rolling so fast that I’m a little more careful with her,” said the EquiStat No.3 all-time leading rider of over $3.7 million. “Rosie was good from the beginning; she won the first round of the Juvenile here last year. I knew we were sitting on something pretty fantastic. I don’t ride for outside owners much, so Teton has been amazing. They’ve done whatever Rosie needs, whenever she needs it. It’s been fun to have that partnership with them.”
“Maybelline” carried a 15.316 qualifying time into the Finals and ran a 15.121 as the second-to-last horse to run in the final round, clinching an average of 30.437.
Chitichiti Bangbang, owned, bred, raised and trained in the Tonozzi program and out of Brittany’s standard pattern U.S. record-holder Kisskiss Bangbang, finished as BFA Futurity Reserve World Champion, worth $26,495.
“I almost didn’t send her hard enough to the first barrel. I can let her roll, so [Rosie and Maybelline] are different in that scenario, so I have to remind myself which one I’m on,” she explained. “Maybelline’s journey this year was a little different, but the end result was really cool with both of them. I started her to the left. She was my slot horse last year, and it just didn’t work out. She did not like going left. A week before Fort Smith [in May], I switched her to the right, and the lightbulb came on. Everybody thought I was crazy, but it wasn’t working, so something had to change.”
Brittany’s winning ways didn’t stop with the two standout mares. She also qualified 4-year-old Babe On The Prowl (Dash Ta Fame x Streakin Six Babe x Streakin Six), a full sister to her late NFR mare Ima Famous Babe (“Katniss”) who will run in 2024 as a 5-year-old futuri- ty horse, to the BFA Futurity Finals with a 15.641 in the mare’s first week of com- petition. She ran a 15.408 in the Finals to finish 17th in the Futurity for $3,924.
Brittany won the 5-Year-Old Futurity Horse Incentive Side-Pot Average in the 2023 BFA Derby aboard Busby Quarter Horses-owned mare Misty Eyed Over Jet, worth $1,248. The royally bred 2018 mare by Blazin Jetolena and out of Mistys Dash Of Fame by Dash Ta Fame ran two times of 15.432 and 15.443, respectively, to place in both rounds of the Derby and qualify to the Derby Finals as well, where a 15.526 earned the pair 10th in the average for $1,797.
“She was trained by Jolene Montgomery, and she had some setbacks, so Jolene didn’t get to keep her in training for long periods of time. After the Finals last year, Andrea Busby called and asked if I’d take, so of course with the way she’s bred, how could you not?” Brittany said with a laugh. “We entered her in the Ruby Buckle, since we might as well run her; she’s 5. She’s surprised all of us; she’s done well and made some spectacular runs here and there. We were super pleased she went out winning that.”
She also rode 3-year-old Addicted Ta Sucess (Dash Ta Fame x Addicted To Guys x Frenchmans Guy), a BFA Sale purchase last year, to win the BFA Juvenile Sale Stakes side-pot for BFA Sale graduates.
The Tonozzis’ legendary producing mare Streakin Six Babe made her mark at the BFA as well.
“Streakin Six Babe had a Derby finalist, a Futurity finalist and also a granddaughter in all the Finals at the BFA,” Brittany said of Blazin Babe Olena (Blazin Jetolena x Streakin Six Babe), who won fifth in the Derby, Babe On The Prowl and Tres Chasin Babe PZ, respectively. “I thought that was really cool. It’s a long time coming. If you think about it, it stems back to 2004 when I bought Streakin Six Babe from Charmayne James, and now Rosie is third-generation Streakin Six Babe. It takes a good producer to make a good program.”
Brittany headed to her 17th Wrangler NFR a little over a week after the BFA and graciously thanked her husband Garrett and daughter Tinlee for their support this year.
“I’d like to thank my family. Garrett and Tinlee have had to be put on the backburner a lot this year, because I’ve been gone so much. Garrett has made everything work at home, and it’s been a true team effort to get everything accomplished this year,” Brittany said
BFA SuperStakes Slot Race Champion Elaina McKinney and TJR Malibu Eddie
Elaina McKinney’s name was one to be feared during her days as a top youth competitor, and now she’s proven she also deserves a place among the futurity industry’s top competitors as well.
The 22-year-old Carbondale, Illinois, native took home $100,000 for the fastest time in the 2023 BFA SuperStakes slot race for 3-year-olds making their first competition run, clocking a 15.481 aboard 2020 gelding TJR Malibu Eddie.
“I was in tears. I was bawling my eyes out,” said Elaina, an EquiStat earner in excess of $360,000 and 2020 All American Youth 1D Champion. “I’ve never won anything on this kind of level. My old horse, WRS Kool Memories, I’ve won a bunch on him, but in the futurity side of things, I’ve never won anything near like this on this type of stage. I was in shock. I was hoping to place if I could get a good run. When I came out and saw the time, I was in tears over the whole thing. It was full circle — whenever I got here, everything was going bad, and I was trusting God to turn this around. We were praying — we are desperate, we need help here really bad. For Him to turn everything around is crazy.”
Upon arriving in Guthrie, Elaina walked out to her stall after their first night at the Lazy E to find “Malibu’s” stall walls covered in blood. The gelding had somehow cut the inside of his mouth and was too tender to even take a bit in his mouth. A visit to Dr. Greg Ford, DVM, helped get him fast-tracked for the slot race with some medication for his mouth as well as a chiropractic adjustment to his shoulders. Elaina also wrapped Malibu’s bit thick with Vetrap to help ease the pressure.
“I wrapped my bit like crazy. Everything else that could have gone wrong was going wrong. It was like ‘Why are we even here?’ None of my horses were working right, we’d spent all this money to come all the way out here, and we just prayed like crazy. Overnight, his mouth healed up a lot better; God worked miracles. I rode him that morning after the shoulder adjustment, and he was a completely different horse,” said Elaina, who made the trip south to Oklahoma with her mother, Kim McKinney.
Elaina had confidence in her gelding after over a year of hauling and exhibitions on him, but nothing could replicate the environment that awaited her first BFA SuperStakes that night.
“My stomach was in knots. I’ve never been in a slot race with that much pressure,” she admitted. “I was freaking out on the inside and just so nervous, because that’s a lot of money. I knew I had the horse that would go in and work, because I’ve been hauling him all year and he’s had so many hours. I just didn’t know if the run would be there. He’s been clock- ing competitively compared to other colts in exhibitions, but you don’t ever really know until you ask them.”
The McKinney family purchased Malibu as a weanling from his breeders Twisted J Ranch, who also own sire Eddie Stinson. He’s out of Lil Miss Firewater, a full sister to leading sire Chasin Firewater and also the dam of NFR qualifier Emily Beisel’s young rodeo standout Ivory On Fire.
Elaina put the first rides on him and trained him herself, along with advice from two generations of successful barrel racers — her father Rick McKinney and grandfather Bob McKinney, both fierce competitors in their own rights and highly skilled trainers.
The family owns McKinney’s Western Store, which has been in business over 30 years. Elaina works part-time at the store in addition to riding — her grandfather’s barn and arena where she rides is right behind the store.
Everything is a family affair for the McKinneys, and Elaina wouldn’t have it any other way.
“That was a big part of this win being so emotional. Me and my dad have been the only people on Malibu. He was a handful when we started him, but we worked through it together and my dad helped me a lot. Malibu was always my grandpa’s pick,” Elaina said with a smile.
“He’s 86 and still rides; I ride with him every day,” she continued. “He always says ‘Remember who you are.’ He’s not a man of many words, but I called him late at night after the slot race and told him the whole story and was crying, and he always leaves off with ‘Remember who you are.’ My grandpa is the building block of everything. I soak it all in, having him here every day. I want to absorb everything he says. It’s pretty special.”
MVP Juvenile Futurity Champion Brian Wheeler and Designerleaptoheaven
Last year, he was the BFA Juvenile Reserve Champion and three weeks later won the equivalent OKC Rookie Futurity on two different horses, and he’s been a BFA Derby World Champion as a youth rider in 2010. This year, Brian Wheeler finally clinched the BFA Juvenile World Championship he’s been chasing for most of his career, thanks to 3-year-old mare Designerleaptoheaven.
“It means the world to me. The Juvenile is something I’ve always wanted to win since I was 12 or 13 years old. It’s the one thing that’s been my goal, and for the last 10-15 years I’ve been working toward it,” said Wheeler of the annual 3-year-old futurity for the following year’s 4-year- old futurity colts. “To me, it’s the only barrel race that’s even. Everybody gets a colt, breaks it, starts it and has the same amount of days to have it ready. That’s what I love about it. It’s a race to have them ready and to be there. It’s the only race that’s even — there’s no horses that have ran or won stuff before. You just have to be ready November 15.”
Wheeler rode Designerleaptoheaven to a 15.842 in the first run of “Penny’s” career in the SuperStakes slot race to finish one hole out of the money. They clocked a consistent 15.871 in the first round of the Juvenile before turning on the jets in the second go to win the round with a 15.425, worth $7,448 — Wheeler’s second consecutive second-round win in the Juvenile after winning the second round last year as well on 2022 Juvenile Reserve Champion SBW Feelinthepressure.
The time sealed the deal for the winning average of 31.296 and a check for $9,950 as well as won the Future Fortunes Juvenile Sires’ Slot, worth a hefty $40,000.
“She’s been almost a little free and takes too many steps around the barrels, and I didn’t really want to try and tighten it up too much beforehand, because I didn’t know how she was going to react when I got there,” Wheeler explained. “After the first two runs, she was free and nice, so I took my reins up one hole, my curb chain up one hole, and I worked her a little tighter in the warm-up pen before I ran. That was all I changed from the first day to the end of it.”
Wheeler is an EquiStat earner of more than $750,000 and has had plenty of success at the early futurities. He says his keys to making sure his colts are ready to go for the start of the futurity year November 15 is keeping things simple and putting on the pressure before it’s time to enter up.
“Before we get there, I put the pressure on them and find out if they’re going to take it or not. I’d rather them mess up in October and me figure out how to fix it and what to do than wait for it to blow
up on me when the pressure is on. I don’t do anything special; I just lope up there and go around the barrel. I keep it simple and easy. I ask them to do the same thing every single day in the exact same way so I don’t ever confuse them,” Wheeler shared. “Just start them early enough, ride them, and spend the time. I don’t go [to as many events] as a lot of people, and I don’t have as many colts as a lot of people. I spend a good amount of time on individual horses.”
While Brian also ran 2023 futurity horse SBW Feelinthepressure at the BFA, Penny is Brian’s only juvenile colt for 2024 currently competing.
Owned by Wheeler’s longtime client Kim Matthews of Mission Ranch and bred by the legendary Youree-Ward Barrel Horses, Penny is by JL Dash Ta Heaven son and proven performer Heavenly Firewater and out of Designer Ruby by Designer Red, who produced Kylie (Ward) Weast’s NFR mare Hell On The Red, by JL Dash Ta Heaven.
The Mississippi-based horse trainer says earning a title like this is even more memorable because of his relationship with the owners.
“Kim’s a great owner. She was the first person to ever send me an outside colt, and now she’ll send me several every year,” said Brian, who alongside his mother Stephanie Wheeler breed, raise and train many of the horses he runs. “It felt so good to be able to do that for her.”
Diamond R Trailers Derby Champion Brandon Cullins and MJ Segers Fast Lane
Everyone who knows what MJ Segers Fast Lane is capable of was waiting for it to happen at the BFA all week. In the final round of the Derby, the speedy black mare delivered, breaking into the sub- 15-second range with jockey Brandon Cullins on board to win the 2023 BFA World Championship Derby.
The title marked Cullins’ third career BFA Derby title and fifth overall BFA title.
“I remember when I started, the BFA was the biggest and coolest thing there was, and I still love it. It’s my favorite one. I don’t know what it is, but I grew up reading about the BFA, and I remember I started going to the BFA in 2007, and I didn’t win a check until 2012. But I was there every year,” Cullins said. “It always felt like such a big deal to me, because it’s where all the great trainers and horses were.”
This year’s title came aboard one of the most electric horses the EquiStat $1.5 million rider has had the opportunity to ride in his career. The duo’s 15.098 qualifying time from their first-round win was the second-fastest in the Finals field behind Kelly Bowser and Willsheluvmequik’s 15.076 that won the second round.
“I hardly work her on the barrels at all; I just exercise her, put her on the Freestyle exerciser at home or long jog around the field. The day of the Finals, I did work her on the barrels once for my own peace of mind. I figured if it went wrong, I’d be mad at myself, so I took her around the barrels in the warm-up pen and kept her easy, out and open,” he explained.
“Seger” laid down a final-round run that had the crowd inside the Lazy E Arena going wild. Cullins’ expert jockeying got her across the timer’s line to a 14.946 to seal the winning average of 30.044.
“I’m still not perfect at her first barrel. She runs in so hard, and she’s honest going to it, but my timing is not perfect, especially her second run when she’s more aggressive. When I took her to it, she buried up and I felt like I was tight, so I let her out of it and it shot me downhill a bit,” he said. “I almost chased her a hair deep at second, so it felt like she was coming over on top of it. I let go of the reins and reached down to move the barrel and push her hips out of the way so she could clear it. She turned it on her own; I didn’t have the reins. At the third, I got her a hair big of a pocket so when she finished the turn a little tight, she let me pick my inside rein up and step around it.”
When Seger makes runs like that, Cullins said it leaves even him in awe.
“She was running the whole time. She lays her ears back, and I just don’t think she cares about anything in the world but running barrels. She’s one of a kind, that’s for sure,” Cullins said.
The win paid $8,515 for owners Grant and Rayel Little. Seger was raised by Mark and Linda Jarvis, owners of her sire The Goodbye Lane, and is out of the family’s proven producer SKS Running Faucet, with more than $300,000 in EquiStat produce earnings. Seger is a full sister to winning mounts Slingshot Lane and MJ Fly Bye Lane, both trained and ridden by Marcie (Jarvis) Wilson.
Rayel trained the mare and started her futurity year campaign in 2022, and then Wilson ran her some before Cullins took the reins last fall. He’s now ridden her to titles such as the Fizz Bomb Classic Derby in September and the Pink Buckle Derby and Ruby Buckle East Derby champion- ships in October, respectively.
Cullins said everything about Seger’s upbringing has contributed to her success and put her on a different level.
“I think her try, and she’s had everything done right. She’s made right conformationally, she’s by The Goodbye Lane, her mother produced, she’s a full sibling to other great horses. The Jarvises know how to raise horses, and Grant and Rayel know how to make great horses. Rayel trained her and did everything right; she’s super broke. Rayel had her running great, and Marcie, who’s also a great trainer, ran her. She’s a great horse that had all the right parts — she is the opposite of a Seabiscuit story,” Cullins said with a laugh. “She’s a great horse, she’s made right, bred right, trained right, and on top of all that, she wants it probably more than we do. Her try sets her aside.”
Great owners also contribute immensely to a horse’s ability to succeed, and Cullins is grateful to ride for the Littles.
“They were at Pink Buckle, but there was no win picture, so it was cool to get two win pictures with them — she won the derby year-end in Future Fortunes before the Derby finals, so that was the first win picture, and then she came back and won the Derby. That was fun; they’re great people. Winning is always fun, but it’s even more fun when you win for great people to share it with. They’re phenomenal people,” Cullins said.
“Rayel has competed at the highest level and Grant has owned horses at the highest level, so they know what it takes on both sides,” he continued. “I have had some horrible runs and some no-times on her in the early stages, even not that long ago. They never question what I’m doing or suggest trying something; they’re like ‘You know what you’re doing.’ Grant always says, ‘Don’t forget who you are.’ That makes it easier to win, when somebody is 100% on your side and believes in you more than you believe in yourself.”
Cullins thanked his fiancé Emily Efurd and Seger’s team — Jenn Evans body work, Ashley Truman’s Acuscope by Ashley, and Andrea Enzenauer’s WD Feed Equine Spa.
This article was originally published in the January 2024 issue of Barrel Horse News.
