Kara Kreder and Buh Bye Baby won the Average title at the rescheduled Prairie Circuit Finals in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, January 30-31. Emily Beisel won the Year-End title.
Purchased as a 3-year-old, 2020 gelding Buh Bye Baby (The Goodbye Lane x TS Famous Prospect x Coronas Prospect) and Kara Kreder have only been competing together for about a year. Now they hold their first Prairie Circuit Finals average title.
“Batson” was originally supposed to be held for his 5-year-old futurity year, which quickly escalated to making his first rodeo performance appearance at the World Champions Rodeo Alliance Rodeo Corpus Christi in May of 2025.
“I didn’t really have anything to run and Batson had been doing good,” Kreder said. “He’d been clocking good at some jackpots and stuff, but he hadn’t been to a rodeo. He’s honest and I was just like I’m going to take him and whatever happens, happens. He did well at Corpus. That was his first real loud, any kind of performance. He did great. He went in and worked awesome but it was the stoplight start, which I was awful at. We didn’t win any money, but he did amazing so I said we’ll just keep, keep entering him.”
They went from Corpus Christi to the Women’s Rodeo World Championships in Fort Worth, Texas where Kreder and Batson placed second in the second round. After seeing his potential, Kreder knew he needed to be on the trailer for the summer rodeos.
“I didn’t run him very much this summer, I had a couple other horses that I rode more. I didn’t want to put too much on him too fast,” Kreder said. “But he did well. He placed at a few rodeos I took him to and he’s done well this fall. I’ve placed at quite a few Texas rodeos this fall to start the new year.”
This was the first year Kreder has qualified for a Women’s Professional Rodeo Association Circuit Finals, and the Prairie Circuit Finals were scheduled for November 20-22, 2025 in Mulvane, Kansas. When a strain of Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM) was confirmed by multiple equine veterinary clinics in Texas on November 18, the Prairie Circuit cancelled their finals alongside many other events. When quarantines ended and events started back up, the circuit committee worked to reschedule the finals in Pawhuska, Oklahoma at the end of January, often one of the coldest times of the year in the area.
“We were all so very grateful Pawhuska took us in and made it happen within this small, 45-day window they had to work with,” Kreder added. “I knew it was going to be a long ride from the barns to the arena, and there were negative wind chills that weekend. I feel like the girls in the Prairie Circuit are so resilient.”
Despite freezing temperatures and continued challenges, Kreder had a fairytale first circuit finals. Her and Batson won the first round with a 16.20.
“I wanted to be a little more conservative. We got to get in the arena, but didn’t work the barrels or anything so I wasn’t super sure how he’d like that setup because he’s a lefty, and the first barrel is quite a ways off the fence,” Kreder explained. “He went in there and was perfect. Went right where he was supposed to go. I can ride him one handed. He’s just that kind of horse. I wish I could take credit for all of it, but I can’t. He just goes where he’s supposed to. He wants to be good. He was pretty much autopilot and he had a smoking third barrel. When they said new leader, I was like grins from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe it.”
Kreder said Batson struggled with allergies to the shavings while being stalled onsite. After many texts with her vet and various treatments for irritated airways, Kreder wanted to make sure he felt OK. He proved he did when they returned in the second round to post a 16.08, placing second behind Emily Beisel’s 16.00.
“He proved he felt fine. He ran in there twice as hard and let me ask him for an extra step on the second barrel,” she added. “He’s just was a rock star. Anytime I throw something at him, he just exceeds all expectations. I can’t say one bad thing, aside from, we froze all weekend, but he was just awesome.”
Kreder left Pawhuska for her home in Texas with an average title, invite to Colorado Springs, Colorado in July and $9,199 richer.
First round: 1. Kara Kreder, 16.20 seconds, $3,345; 2. Kim Squires, 16.31, $2,509; 3. Ivy Hurst, 16.61, $1,672; 4. Emily Beisel, 16.72, $836.
Second round: 1. Emily Beisel, 16.00 seconds, $3,345; 2. Kara Kreder, 16.08, $2,509; 3. Ivy Hurst, 16.17, $1,672; 4. Kim Squires, 16.32, $836.
Average: 1. Kara Kreder, 32.28 seconds on two head, $3,345; 2. Kim Squires, 32.63, $2,509; 3. Emily Beisel, 32.72, $1,672; 4. Ivy Hurst, 32.78, $836.
