At 58 years young, veteran barrel racer Mary Burger wins her first Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world championship in one of the tightest races in the organizations history.
In one of the most dramatic down-to-the-wire finishes in the history of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, Mary Burger of Pauls Valley, Okla., took home the ultimate barrel racing title: the 2006 WPRA Barrel Racing World Championship. The win came after a grueling 10-round battle at the 2006 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev. Burger, 58, came to the NFR in second place, $18,737 behind the leader, Brittany Pozzi, 22, of Victoria, Texas. Burger had earned $110,655 from 92 regular-season rodeos, while Pozzi had collected $129,392 in rodeo checks from 83 WPRA-approved races.
With a total Wrangler NFR barrel racing purse of $671,874 on the line, all eyes turned to the Thomas & Mack arena for the 10 days of competition that ran from Nov. 30-Dec.9, 2006. First place in a round paid an incredible $16,021 and first in the10-run average was worth $41,087, so no leads were safe at this year’s rodeo showcase of champions.
Round by Round Recap
After the first three rounds, Burger had whittled away at Pozzi’s lead with three fifth-place finishes, each paying $4,134. Pozzi had three clean runs, but she had yet to pick up a check. Still, she was ranked seventh in the average. Burger needed only $6,348 to take the lead. Her total on three runs put her third in the average. Meanwhile, it looked as though Livingston, Montana, barrel racer Shelly Anzick might be an unforeseen threat. After winning the first round, second in the second round and third in the third round, she led the average, and her $38,245 in NFR winnings had moved her into third place in the world standings. She was quickly closing in on Burger and Pozzi.
Although Anzick had hit a barrel in the first round, Kelly Maben of Spur, Texas and her 10-year-old sorrel gelding, Mystic Angela (“Bubba”), were coming in strong with back-to-back victories in the second and third rounds for quick NFR winnings of $32,043. With nearly $30,000 seperating fourth-ranked Maben and fifth-ranked Kelly Kaminski (the reining world champion), the finals was shaping up to be a four-horse field of Pozzi, Burger, Anzickand Maben for the world title.
The fourth go proved to be the eliminator round for barrel racing, with seven knocked barrels, including the one Anzick tipped over. On the bright side, Pozzi drew her first round paycheck, splitting fourth and fifth for $5,426. Burger remained the model of consistency with a sixth-place finishworth $2,584. The spread between Pozzi and Burger went from $6,348 to $9,191. Maben managed to avoid the five-second penalty list in the fourth round, and her third-place finish put her within $12,650 of Burger and $21,841 of Pozzi. Winning the fourth round put Brandie Halls of Carpenter, Wyo., in the world-title race, as well. In addition to a $16,021 first-place check, she bumped Burger and Pozzi to second and third, rrespectively theaverage as she went into the lead on four runs.
Halls’ lead in the average was short-lived when she knocked down a barrel in the fifth round. At the halfway mark, Burger led the average and Pozzi sat in second place. Another round win by Maben in the fifth go moved her to third in the world standings. A fourth place $6,718 check put Burger towithin $2,472 of the lead, still held by Pozzi.
Before Burger could make her way to the top of the world standings, Maben shoved her back down by winning the sixth round. The $16,021 paycheck gave Maben $73,647 in NFR earnings and $145,008 for the year to boost her ahead of both Pozzi and Burger for the world title. A third-place finish for Burger in the sixth round, while Pozzi finished out of the money, moved Burger ahead of Pozzi by $7,089. But the lucrative average began to play a key role in projections of who the 2006 world champion would be. Burger stood first after six runs, Pozzi third and Maben fourth, even with a barrel down.
Following the seventh round, where Denise Adams of Lufkin, Texas, took the win, the tide seemed to be turning in Burger’s favor. Winning fifth for the fourth time of the week, Burger widened her lead in the average over Pozzi and stood only $1,562 behind Maben for the world title. Maben finished sixth in the round and Pozzi out of the money in eighth place.
The picture brightened considerably for Pozzi in the eighth round, as both Burger and Maben hit a barrel. Even though it was the first barrel she’d hit all week, Burger went from first in the average to fourth, and Maben, who’d hit two, dropped from fourth to sixth. A third- and fourth place split in the round paid Pozzi a critical $8,140 and moved her to first in the average. Not only did the eighth round present a turnaround for the world title, but it also brought a new arena record, set by round winner Halls, who clocked a scorching 13.52. The win moved Halls to fourth in the world standings and third in the average, giving her an outside shot at the world title should Pozzi hit a barrel.
Although it appeared only six barrels stood between Pozzi and the 2006 world championship, Burger went into the lead in the world standings with yet another fifth-place finish in the ninth round. The $4,134 paycheck moved her $2,572 ahead of second-ranked Maben, who hit her third barrel of the week. Pozzi finished out of the money in eighth place.
In a drama fitting for the live ESPN2 broadcast, the race for the 2006 WPRA world championship in barrel racing came down to one run. After competing in 92 rodeos during the year and nine performances at the NFR for Burger, and 83 rodeos during the year and nine performances at the NFR for Pozzi, the championship came down to a final shootout.
Going into the 10th and final round, the pressure was on Burger. The odds were heavily in Pozzi’s favor. She led the average worth $41,087. Only one other member of the top 15, Codi Baucom of Carthage, N.C., had made nine clean runs and stood in second place. Burger was ranked third inthe average which would pay $26,358. If everything stayed the same in the average, and neither Burger nor Pozzi placed in the 10th round, Burger would be $7,511 short.
Even though Burger and her sorrel gelding, Rare Fred, had clocked a time as fast as 13.73 (sixth go round), their average time on nine runs was 13 91. But the pair dug deep. and a 13.75 flashed on the scoreboard when they crossed the finish line. Pozzi ran next, choosing to ride her sorrel gelding, Sixth Vison (“Stitch”), for the last run due to his overall consistency and likelihood of not hilling a barrel. A 14.14 assured her of winning the NFR average title, but it took the remainder of the rare to see where Burger’s 13.75 would finish.
Maben won the round, and Burger finished second, the highest she’d placed all week. The $12,662 paycheck for the round, added to her $26,358 third-place average check, gave her total yearly winnings of $189,185. Pozzi added $2,584 to her earnings for finishing sixth in the 10th round and $41,087 for winning the average. Her winnings for the year totaled $186,618. The gold buckle went to Burger by the slimmest of margins — $2,567.
This article was originally published in the January 2007 issue of Barrel Horse News
