Jane Melby’s 16.38 stands as the rodeo’s fastest time and earns the first go round first place check. Other first round check earners were (unofficially) 2. Sarah Kieckhefer 16.44; 3. Natalie Foutch, 16.45; 4. Brenda Mays, 16.49; 5. Kendra Dickson, 16.52; 6. Karen Little, 16.53; 7. Kelly Yates, 16.54; 8. Emily Efurd, 16.59; and 9/10th split Carlee Pierce, Trula Churchill and Holly Cauthen 16.61 each.
Taking Kieckhefer, who sits on the WPRA board representing the Turquoise Circuit, to the pay window at Ft. Worth was her home grown bay gelding Stingray Booger aka Stingy. “I raised him, trained him, ran him in the futurities and have slowly brought him up through the ranks,” said Kieckhefer, who has qualified for the past three Turquoise Circuit Finals riding the now 9-year-old.
“I haven’t run him since last Nov. at the Brawley, Calif., rodeo,” stated Kieckhefer. “He’s a little hard for me to judge his time because he’s deceiving. Tonight’s run just felt really fluid. He turned good and kept moving.”
She’s entered in San Angelo and San Antonio after she finishes at Ft. Worth then she’ll head to her home state for Tucson. “I’d like to go some this year but I’ll play it month-by-month. I know I’ll go to the spring run of rodeos in California because we have cattle there to ship which puts me near those rodeos anyway.”
Shada Brazile, Decatur, Texas, wife of million dollar cowboy Trevor Brazile, posted the fastest time of the 18th performance on Super Bowl Sunday night, Feb. 3 with a 16.62. Brazile rode her 7-year-old bay gelding Dial It Fast, a former futurity horse that won major bucks with LaTricia Duke aboard (the same background as Brittany Pozzi’s Yeah Hes Firen aka Duke).
“Trevor saw him last year at the Circuit Finals when Brittany Pozzi ran him and liked his looks,” said Brazile. “We bought him just about a year ago. He really wanted to head on him because he just has that look about him but of course that didn’t happen because he’s my barrel horse,” said Brazile with a wide grin.
Jennifer Kent, Grand Cane, La. and former Wrangler NFR qualifier Cindy Smith, Hobbs, N.M. were the fastest at the 19th performance on Monday afternoon with matching times of 16.77. Kent was especially proud of her time since it was the first run back for her 9-year-old sorrel gelding Brovos Best Talker aka Burnie after foot surgery last Nov.
The next nine performances at Ft. Worth will be filled with the fastest 90 times from the long go. The Semi Finals begin with the Tuesday, Feb. 5 matinee and continue thru the Saturday matinee on Feb. 9.
19th Performance, Ft. Worth, Texas, Monday 2:00 p.m., Feb. 4, 2013
Jennifer Kent 16.77
Cindy Smith 16.77
Christine Laughlin 17.19
Tasha Welsh 17.46
Lesley Luttrell 17.49
Deb Frasier 17.57
Sally Young 17.80
Nicki Zimmerman 17.93
Catherine Medlock 18.21
Jordan Taton 22.33
20th Performance, Ft. Worth, Texas, Monday 7:30 p.m., Feb. 4, 2013
Sarah Kieckhefer 16.44
Kenna Squires 16.88
Jean Winters 16.92
Jody Sheffield 16.92
Nicole Aichele 17.07
Jenna Marie Moore 17.07
Sherrylynn Johnson 17.46
Tara Lee Woodall 17.73
Brooke Rix 21.67
