Held in Tucson, Arizona from February 21 to March 1, the Tucson Rodeo had a total payout of $386,838. Seven-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Emily Beisel claimed the barrel racing title aboard her palomino gelding Vanilla Gorilla.
Emily Beisel and her home bred- raised- and trained 2017 gelding Vanilla Gorilla (Dash Ta Fame x Quijet x Firecracker Fire) topped the finals at The Tucson Rodeo in Tucson, Arizona also claiming the average title for a $9,930 payday.
“I was excited to run Trigger at Tucson. I had a feeling that it would be a good arena for him and he does like the big wide open spaces, but you know the last one he would’ve made outdoors was probably the end of August/beginning of September so it’s been a little while,” Beisel said. “I trusted he would find the barrels, and you just truly never know with Tucson. That’s such an eliminator pen. I had watched the first performance on Saturday and knew that I was probably going to need to really be able to help him and you know the ground at Tucson is always pretty tough and so I felt like I needed to maybe make some adjustments.”
Beisel typically runs Trigger in slack or at divisional barrel races, settings where she doesn’t have to handle him a lot. She decided to change bits and ran him at a jackpot the weekend before sending him to Arizona.
“I tried him in a No Hit Bit, which is actually his dam’s bit that I had ran on her, and I just had a feeling that it would work for him and let me handle him a little bit more without being in his way and complicating things,” Beisel said. “We went to the jackpot, obviously that was nothing like Tucson, but at least that gave me a feel to know that he would probably handle it and take the pull when I needed it.”
While the jackpot wasn’t set up like Tucson, Beisel used it as a chance to see if Trigger would respond well to the bit change and more pull. The third barrel in Tucson is practically in the middle of the arena, far from the fence and often requires more guidance for horses to see and turn.
“I was really proud of him,” Beisel added. “He was extremely hyper sensitive during our run just because of all the activity in the back. They had a huge stagecoach right before the barrel race and so in the long round when I was second out I had to sit up there and let the stagecoach come right by us. There was no fence or anything to separate us so that was quite a bit for the horses to process and then as soon as the barrels was concluded, they had the chuck wagons coming through so we threw a lot at him that he hasn’t seen before.”
Despite the new and chaotic atmosphere, Beisel and Trigger placed second with a 17.26, tieing with Lisa Lockhart, each earning $3,532. Austyn Tobey and 2016 mare Frisky Ta Fame (Firewater Ta Fame x Streakin Porsche x Streakin Again) topped the long round with a 17.25, earning $4,495.
In the finals, Beisel and Trigger topped the leaderboard with a 17.29, earning $1,903. That solidified the average win with a time of 34.55 seconds on two runs worth another $4,495.
“He was pretty nervous. I was very thankful when I got out to the arena that he remembered barrels, but it took a lot of guiding, more so than normal just to kind of keep him up in the hole and keep him from looking elsewhere and stay hooked so that way we could execute the course properly,” Beisel said with a laugh.
The night before, Beisel and Ivory On Fire finished third at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, earning $11,558 in their runs there before flying back to Tucson.
She sits No. 17 in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world standings with $15,289 not including her winnings in Tucson or San Antonio.
First round: 1. Austyn Tobey, 17.25 seconds, $4,495; 2. (tie) Emily Beisel and Lisa Lockhart, 17.26, $3,532 each; 4. Carlee Otero, 17.33, $2,782; 5. Amy Reisdorfer, 17.44, $2,140; 6. Kellie Jorgensen, 17.46, $1,712; 7. Gracen Harman, 17.54, $1,284; 8. (tie) Sabrina Ketcham and Jolee Lautaret-Jordan, 17.56, $749 each; 10. Kailey Mitton, 17.57, $428.
Finals: 1. Emily Beisel, 17.29 seconds, $1,903; 2. Katelyn Scott, 17.54, $1,427; 3. Lisa Lockhart, 17.57, $951; 4. Kailey Mitton, 17.63, $476.
Average: 1. Emily Beisel, 34.55 seconds on two head, $4,495; 2. Lisa Lockhart, 34.83, $3,853; 3. Katelyn Scott, 35.14, $3,211; 4. Kailey Mitton, 35.20, $2,782; 5. Ivy Saebens, 35.22, $2,140; 6. Austyn Tobey, 35.25, $1,712; 7. Gracen Harman, 35.37, $1,284; 8. Sabrina Ketcham, 35.96, $856; 9. Jolee Lautaret-Jordan, 40.40, $642; 10. Amy Jo Reisdorfer, 40.74, $428.
