Immensely private and in possession of incredible fortitude, Haislip quietly battled interstitial lung disease, which forced her retirement from the veterinary profession in the summer of 2015. Ever undaunted, Haislip continued to compete at the highest levels of barrel racing until she was forced to focus solely on her health. Just weeks before her passing, she turned down an invitation to compete at the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo.
“She was tough,” said Jim, her husband of 36 years.
Just eight days after a lung biopsy to discover Haislip’s ailment, she ran at the American Computer Barrel Racing Association Finals and won three saddles while running two of her horses, Famous Scarlett (“Jewel”) and Frenchmans Royal Guy (“Tuff ”).
“The surgeon had her back in six days after the biopsy to check on her and take the staples out,” Jim said. “He asked how she was doing and she said she was getting ready to go to Salinas. He asked, ‘For what?’ She said, ‘Well, I’m going to go to a barrel race.’ He got so mad he threw her records up in the air and walked out of the room!”
Even in early December, when her situation had become increasingly difficult, Haislip was looking forward to traveling “at a leisurely pace” with her husband to rodeos she had never been to before. Just this past summer, the two had taken a 3,500-mile Fourth of July run together.
“We started in Reno (Nevada) and went to Oakley, Utah, Cody (Wyoming), Red Lodge, Livingston (Montana) and then did a 16- to 18-hour drive to Oregon for Molalla,” Jim said. “The heat was terrible. We laughed and said, ‘we may as well have stayed in Arizona. Next year let’s just do Window Rock and Prescott.’ We sat in the truck and had fun, and kind of got to re-know each other. Even the three days we spent in the truck to Oklahoma City in December… it was a lot of fun.”
A force of nature, Haislip was one of those rare individuals who was moving 90 miles an hour while standing still. She leaves behind a winning legacy through her family and the horses she raised.
“Ruth was one of our greats,” past WPRA President Carolyn Vietor said. “She did it all, a wife and mother of two boys, a practicing veterinarian, and many times NFR contestant, all at the same time. She was an amazing woman, who gave it all at whatever she did. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, but her legacy will live on through the great horses that she and her husband, Jim, raised. So sad to see her leave so soon.”
A Celebration of Life was held April 2, 2016, at Pioneer Equine Hospital in Oakdale, California. The California Circuit is working to have Haislip’s name placed on the PRCA’s Wall of Honor.
Written by Tanya Randall. First published in the May 2016 issue of Barrel Horse News.
