LAS VEGAS — DECEMBER 5, 2025 — She may be 14-years-old, one of the oldest barrel horses to be competing inside the Thomas and Mack this year, but you wouldn’t know it. Four-time world champion Hailey Kinsel jockeyed the all-time leading NFR barrel horse and 2025 AQHA/WPRA Horse of the Year DM Sissy Hayday to another round win.
This marks 26 NFR round wins for Kinsel and “Sister,” breaking Charmayne James’ and Sherry Cervi’s record of 25 round wins, which Kinsel tied after her round nine win in 2024.
—>>>Read more about Kinsel and Sister’s previous 25 round wins here.
“She just proves that she loves it,” Kinsel said. “It also just proves that she’s a good built horse and happy to be here. That’s all on God. That’s the soundest horse on my place and she’s done this more than any of them. So it’s pretty cool that she still not only feels good enough, but wants to.”
Kinsel added that the palomino mare knows the drill here all too well and was ready to take off once she hit the alley.
“People like to see the head shake. I personally don’t,” Kinsel said with a laugh. “I like her to take off flat. So she didn’t do it tonight. She’s fine. I gave her her head and she took off.”
“Sister” and Kinsel are on their way to a fifth world title in 2025, moving to No. 1 in the WPRA world standings after earning more than $65,000 in the first two rounds.
“We kissed the backside of the third a little bit,” she added. “I had her a little out of position going into it and so there was a moment there where I thought it might fall, but we were ok, thankfully.”
Kinsel said this year the ground is harder the first couple rounds when its usually deeper at the start of the 10 day rodeo.
“It’s kind of packing a little bit, and you can tell there’s a couple horses taking some missteps. It’ll get better,” Kinsel explained. “Normally, I would say by this point in the week, it’s almost deeper so it’s a little different. Sometimes it takes a while to mix those layers. We trust Randy Spraggins, he’ll get it right but it takes a little bit of test on it. You can tell when we walk out there for grand entry, that stuff packs under our feet.”
Three-time world champion and 18-time NFR qualifier Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi is no stranger to winning a check at the NFR with more than $1.1 million in NFR earnings, but her mount 2018 gelding Sir Epic (JL Sirocco x So Very Epic x Epic Leader), owned by Pete Carr and Morgan Bagnell, earned his first ever NFR check worth $28,979 after placing second with a time of 13.58.
NFR first-time qualifiers Katelyn Scott and Tricia Aldridge have also found their stride inside the Thomas and Mack on horses making their NFR debut as well. Scott placed third in the round with a 13.71 to win her second NFR check aboard 2015 gelding Justa DTF Frenchman (Aint Seen Nothin Yet x Madeline Spade 410 x Justa Hickory Spade). She is also No. 3 in the average standings, behind world champions Kassie Mowry and Kinsel.
Aldridge and her 2020 palomino stallion Adios Pantalones (Tres Seis x French Bar Belle x Frenchmans Guy) placed fourth in the round with a 13.73, also winning their second NFR check. While Aldridge has less than $200,000 in pro rodeo earnings, she has more than $1.2 million in EquiStat reported lifetime earnings as a futurity trainer. Together, Aldridge and “Adios” set a new futurity earnings record, a new barrel racing stallion earnings record and qualified for the NFR in his first full year of pro rodeo competition as a first-year derby horse. Now, he has nearly $25,000 in NFR earnings too.
Notable Horse Changes
Halyn Lide started her second NFR off in Round One aboard 2018 mare Halos Frosted Fame (Mister Big Fame x Aprils Frosty Knight x Pc Frosty Bid), who was bred by NFR qualifier Nina Moore and recently purchased by Lide. They unfortunately knocked a barrel. In Round Two she switched to 2018 gelding Smooth As Rico Suave (A Smooth Guy x Little Thunder Rolls x Royal Quick Dash) owned by Kappie Bryant. Bryant and “Pancakes” made headlines when they competed at Rodeo Corpus Christi and earned a spot on the Free Riders team at Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo held at AT&T Stadium.
2025 NFR Barrel Racing Round Two Results
Place, Name, Time, Money Won
- Hailey Kinsel / DM Sissy Hayday / 13.53 / $36,667.95
- Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi / Sir Epic / 13.58 / $28,979.51
- Katelyn Scott / Justa DTF Frenchman / 13.71 / $21,882.48
- Tricia Aldridge / Adios Pantalones / 13.73 / $15,376.88
- tie- Kassie Mowry / CP He Will Be Epic / 13.77 / $7,688
- tie- Emily Beisel / Ivory On Fire / 13.77 / $7,688
- tie- Megan McLeod-Sprague / Seis Corona / 13.80
- tie- Hayle Gibson-Stillwell / Buncha Dinero / 13.80
- Wenda Johnson / Steal Money / 14.08
- Julie Plourde / Wateverocks RC / 14.17
- Tayla Moeykens / DDD Streaknfirewater / 14.73
- Lisa Lockhart / Blazin Ta Betty / 18.53*
- Carlee Otero / AM Regina George / 18.56*
- Andrea Busby / Hanksnthefastlane / 18.98*
- Halyn Lide / Smooth As Rico Suave / 19.13*
*indicates penalty
2025 NFR Barrel Racing Aggregate Standings
- Hailey Kinsel / 27.23 on two runs
- Kassie Mowry / 27.43
- Katelyn Scott / 27.52
- Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi / 27.70
- Tricia Aldridge / 27.84
- Julie Plourde / 28.43
- Tayla Moeykens / 29.69
- Lisa Lockhart / 32.32
- Emily Beisel / 32.62
- Megan McLeod-Sprague / 32.68
- Hayle Gibson-Stillwell / 32.70
- Andrea Busby / 33.15
- Wenda Johnson / 33.42
- Carlee Otero / 37.45
- Halyn Lide / 39.09
2025 WPRA World Standings (after Round Two)
- Hailey Kinsel / Cotulla, Texas / $261,964
- Kassie Mowry / Dublin, Texas / $257,801
- Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi / Lampasas, Texas / $239,609
- Emily Beisel / Weatherford, Oklahoma / $206,693
- Lisa Lockhart / Oelrichs, South Dakota / $201,349
- Megan McLeod-Sprague / Marsing, Idaho / $184,974
- Carlee Otero / Perrin, Texas / $178,493
- Katelyn Scott / Odessa, Texas / $178,023
- Tricia Aldridge / Sanger, Texas / $176,021
- Anita Ellis / Blackfoot, Idaho / $156,991
- Halyn Lide / China Spring, Texas / $154,614
- Tayla Moeykens / Three Forks, Montana / $152,560
- Hayle Gibson-Stillwell / Redcrest, California / $150,032
- Wenda Johnson / Pawhuska, Oklahoma / $148,428
- Andrea Busby / Millsap, Texas / $143,098
- Julie Plourde / Krum, Texas / $128,276
