London Gorham and Runnin With Wings Take Top Honors at Better Barrel Races The Richest Dinosaur January 31-February 2, 2025, in Glen Rose, Texas, at Somervell County Exposition Center.
London Gorham, a 17-year-old talent from Cotulla, Texas, has been riding a barrel horse since before she could walk. Coming from a long line of successful rodeo athletes, Gorham explained that it’s in her blood to be a barrel racer and a winning one at that.
“I like to win, which is why I would rather ride and jockey horses that are trained and already confident in their job. It keeps me confident whenever I compete in the arena,” Gorham explained.
That’s where James Barnes, professional futurity barrel horse trainer from Hamburg, Arkansas, comes into play in Gorham’s program.
“James has been helping me with my horses since I was eight years old. I’ve always rode big, strong, fast horses, and I was so little when I was young that I needed someone to back them off and tune them for me so they were ready to go when I ran,” Gorham explained.
Gorham sent Runnin With Wings, better known as “Homeboy,” to Barnes as a 2-year-old to begin his career as a barrel horse after they picked him out of the pasture at Jud Little’s ranch in Ardmore, Texas, and the gelding was started under saddle by Bryce Jenkins.
It was obvious the gelding showed immense talent off the bat, having a decorated futurity year earning $15,756 in EquiStat earnings with Barnes, in spite of an injury that kept him out of most of his futurity year.
Gorham has since had great success with the gelding, earning more than $275,348 in reported EquiStat earnings as a team.
“Every horse that James trains is so easy to ride behind, and I feel like there have been a lot of youth riders like myself that have had a lot of success riding behind him,” Gorham said.
Gorham said it was a no-brainer to continue sending a colt to Barnes each year, which would build a barn full of horses for Gorham to ride after their futurity year.
Gorham’s very own 2020 gelding, Mista Bigg, aka “Biggie” (RR Mistakelly x Fortunes Flame x Tres Fortunes), mostly recently placed third in the average at the Kinder Cup Futurity with Barnes aboard, adding $7,751 to his lifetime earnings.
“We are really excited about the horses in our program coming up. It is exciting to see our little breeding program come together,” Gorham said. “This is our first foal out of Fortunes Flame, better known as “Wanda,” who is the number one earning offspring of Tres Fortunes,” Gorham explained.
Gorham and Homeboy ran once at the Dinosaur Classic on Saturday. They turned in the fastest time of the weekend, 14.953, won the Saturday Open Race and the Big Spender Slot Race, and took home a total of $7,306 in change.
“I really wanted to use my run at Glen Rose just for preparation for the American Regional Semifinals. The white walls at Tulsa are very similar to Glen Rose, so it was a good place to have a confidence-boosting practice run. I have tipped the second barrel two years in a row to make the American at AT&T Stadium,” Gorham humbly admitted.
However, Gorham and Homeboy have been on a roll in the arena thus far this year. They plan to carry their momentum into the American Contender Tournament Central Regional Semifinals and Finals, which at time this was written was set to be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from February 13-15.
“I have been really confident on Homeboy this year. He is such a special horse that goes out there and does his job every single time. He loves to run barrels and is such a fun horse to ride. We are just going to take it one run at a time and hope it all works out,” Gorham said.
Gorham plans to buy her Women Professional Rodeo Association permit whenever she turns 18 and set out on the rodeo trail on her arsenal of talented horses. Her goal is to make it to the National Finals Rodeo and one day win the WPRA World Championship.
“I think it’s really important to your success to have a strong support system,” Gorham explained. “I’ve had a lot of help from a lot of people, but none of this would be possible without my mom. She wants me to win just as badly as I do, and she has been there every step of the way for me.”
Gorham also thanks Barnes for making her dream horse, Homeboy, as well as her team of veterinarians and farriers that keep her horses going down the road and winning.
This article was originally published in the April 2025 issue of Barrel Horse News.
