By Johna Cravens and Susan Kanode for Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo, with modification from Barrel Horse News
FORT WORTH — January 17, 2023 — The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association competition is underway at Dickies Arena from January 16–February 4 with the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament.
The format features all eight professional rodeo events, and in each event 56 competitors (56 teams in team roping) are divided into seven brackets of eight.
Contestants in each bracket compete in two rounds of back-to-back action. The top two money earners per bracket in each event advance to one of two semifinals, while the third-highest money winner advances to the Wild Card Round. Those finishing lower than third go to the non-qualifier pool. The highest remaining money earner in each event in the non-qualifier pool after all brackets are completed advances to the Wild Card Round.
The top two in the Wild Card Round advance to the Semifinals, and the top four from each Semifinal advance to the Finals February 4.
Barrel Horse News brings you all the action, results, stories and more from the 2023 Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo barrel racing.
Scroll down for complete barrel racing results from Fort Worth.
Jackie Ganter Wins 2023 Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo Barrel Racing Championship
FORT WORTH — February 4, 2023 — The $1.2 million FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament came to a rousing close on Saturday, February 4, in Dickies Arena.
No one was more excited to win their first championships at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo than bareback rider Rocker Steiner and barrel racer Jackie Ganter.
An emotional Jackie Ganter got the win riding her great 2008 gelding Howes a Tycoon (Streakin Again x RLJ Callinallangles x Knock Their Socksoff). She stopped the clock in 16.30 seconds, the same time that she had clocked to win the Wildcard round. They waited in the wings during the finals as two-time FWSSR champion Hailey Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday stopped the clock in 16.35 seconds.
Ganter and Tycoon made four trips around the barrels to have the opportunity to run Saturday. The Abilene, Texas, cowgirl earned $25,260 in Fort Worth. She was seventh in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world standings before, and with her earnings here, Ganter will be very close to the No. 1 spot. She has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo twice in 2015 and 2016. With her success in Fort Worth and her blazing fast horse, the former hunter-jumper equestrian is on track to make a third trip to Las Vegas this year.
The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is the biggest rodeo so far in the 2023 season. It is one of the bigger indoor rodeos that can jumpstart a contestant’s year. Plans are underway for the 127th Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, which will start January 12, 2024.
Scroll down for complete barrel racing results and times from the 2023 Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo.
FWSSR Finals February 4 Barrel Racing: 1, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 16.30 seconds, $20,000. 2, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 16.35, $12,000. 3, Sissy Winn, Corpus Christi, Texas, 16.47, $8,000. 4, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.49, $4,000.
2023 FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament Champions (with total money)
Barrel Racing: Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, $25,260
Breakaway Roping: Cheyanne Guillory, Kingston, Okla., $26,193
Bareback Riding: Rocker Steiner, Weatherford, Texas, $27,080
Steer Wrestling: Will Lummus, Byhalia, Mississippi, $27,080
Saddle Bronc Riding: (tie) Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, $23,080
Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, Canada, $21,080
Tie-Down Roping: Weston Hughes, Cameron, Texas, $25,200
Team Roping: Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Stephenville, Texas, $26,200 each
Bull Riding: Josh Frost, Randlett, Utah, $23,787
Emily Beisel, Sissy Win Top Semifinals in Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo Barrel Racing
FORT WORTH — February 3, 2023 — The two Semifinals rounds of barrel racing at the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo saw the fastest time so far of this year’s rodeo.
In Semifinals Two as the first gunners out on the dirt, Sissy Winn and A R Dash Ta Flame (Dash Ta Fame x Discreat Retreat x Mr Jess Perry) clocked a 16.24, winning the round, $4,000 and a place in the Finals on Saturday night. The former fastest of this year’s rodeo was Hailey Kinsel’s 16.25, and Wenda Johnson holds the arena record of 16.08 from her win at last year’s rodeo.
In Semifinals One on Thursday, Emily Beisel and her 13-year-old gelding Namgis D 33 (Bucks Hancock Dude x Track Goddess x Eyesa Special) clocked a 16.32 to punch their ticket to the Finals on Saturday. Though Beisel has always done well at the FWSSR, she says it’s her first time to win a first place at the historic rodeo.
Saturday’s championship round will begin in Dickies Arena at 7:30 p.m. In appreciation of the support the Fort Worth Stock Show has received from the community, grounds admission will be free all day with lots of activities to enjoy on the final day of the 126thedition of the show.
Jackie Ganter Rides Howes A Tycoon to Wild Card Win in Fort Worth Barrel Racing
FORT WORTH — February 1, 2023 — As sleet fell and ice blanketed the city and roads, Wildcard Wednesday was heating up inside Dickies Arena at the 126th Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
The qualifying brackets of the $1.2 million FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament finished Tuesday, with contestants advancing to the two Semifinals, the Wild Card, or packing up to head to the next rodeo.
Jackie Ganter and her great 2008 gelding Howes a Tycoon (Streakin Again x RLJ Callinallangles x Knock Their Socksoff) are also headed to one of the Semifinals performances. Jackie and “Tycoon” have the now-second-fastest run of this year’s rodeo at 16.30 seconds, coming close to Hailey Kinsel’s 16.25 earlier in the week as the barrel racing gets faster and faster in Fort Worth.
The Abilene, Texas, cowgirl and past Wrangler National Finals Rodeo barrel racer qualified for Wednesday’s Wild Card by winning the first round of Bracket 7 with a 16.54. Tycoon is one of the biggest barrel racing horses in the field and seems to love the atmosphere in Dickies Arena. To top off Jackie’s win, her mother Angela Ganter and grandmother have been here to support her. It’s been a special family time.
Now, Jackie has the opportunity to win her first FWSSR buckle. If she advances from the Semifinals to the championship round, she could add an additional $20,000 to her earnings, which would put her in a good place to shoot for her second Wrangler NFR qualification.
Semifinals 1 begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 2 with eight contestants in each event. The four fastest times and highest scores will advance into Saturday night’s championship round. Semifinals 2 will be held on Friday and again, the four best will advance. That gives eight contestants in each event an opportunity to win one of the most prestigious and legendary titles in rodeo.
Sarah Rose Waguespack and Roses Roan Ranger Clock Second-Fastest Time of FWSSR Barrel Racing
FORT WORTH — January 31, 2023 — Tuesday night was the final opportunity for rodeo contestants to advance out of the brackets at the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament on an icy night in Fort Worth.
Contestants have not only been trying to win one of four daily paychecks, they have been working hard at those money earnings to advance to the Wild Card or Semi-finals rounds. A couple of those contestants who were successful in Bracket 7 was breakaway roper Hali Williams of Comanche, Texas, and barrel racer Sarah Rose (McDonald) Waguespack of Gonzales, Louisiana.
Waguespack clocked the second-fastest time so far of the 2023 FWSSR, a 16.34 behind Hailey Kinsel’s 16.25 earlier in the week, aboard her 2017 gelding Roses Roan Ranger (Blings Smooth Guy x Brookstone Rose x Brookstone Bay). The gelding bears striking resemblance to Waguespack’s late, great, gritty NFR mare Fame Fling N Bling — “Ranger’s” sire Blings Smooth Guy is actually a son of “Bling” by A Smooth Guy.
The gelding holds a special place in Waguespack’s heart. She trained and futuritied him to more than $40,000 in EquiStat reported earnings as a 4-year-old futurity colt in 2021. In 2022, the pair racked up more than $45,000, predominantly in rodeo earnings, and the young gelding is already starting 2023 off with a bang.
Breakaway roper Hali Williams finished 28th in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association breakaway roping world standings in 2022. She is looking for her first Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping qualification and is currently at the top of the world standings. She placed fourth in Round 1 of Bracket 7 and won Round 2 in 2.0 to advance to the Semi-finals.
If the daughter of eight-time world champion header Speed Williams continues her success in Dickies Arena, she will do something her legendary father has never done — win a buckle from the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo. One of his eight gold buckles made an appearance in Dickies Arena Tuesday, strapped to his daughter’s belt.
Most of Speed’s success came roping with Rich Skelton, from Llano, Texas, whose daughter also competed here. Barrel racer Rainey Skelton and her electric mare Fame And Jewels (Dash Ta Fame x Tattletail Lily x The Informant) competed in Bracket 4 in the barrel racing and qualified for Wednesday night’s Wild Card Round. If she finishes among the top two in that round, she will also be competing for a buckle in Dickies Arena.
Newcomers Advance to Semi-Finals at FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament
FORT WORTH — January 29, 2023 — Summer Kosel’s name may not be a familiar one to rodeo fans yet, but if she continues the success she is having at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s $1.2 million FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament, she will gain fans across the country.
The Glenham, South Dakota, barrel racer competed in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association-sanctioned barrel race in Dickies Arena on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Riding her great horse Firewaterfrenchfame (Aint Seen Nothin Yet x Fire Water Flyer x Fire Water Flit), she finished in second place Saturday night behind Paige Jones of Wayne, Oklahoma.
Sunday, Kosel was in the middle of the draw of barrel racers and stopped the clock in 16.57 seconds to win the round. So far, she has earned $3,080 in Fort Worth. Last July, she and “Apollo” set the arena record at Cheyenne Frontier Days. She had a shot at her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification, but unfortunately Apollo was hurt at Ellensburg, Washington, over Labor Day Weekend in early September so they went home.
Kosel finished 26th in the world standings, which was good enough to qualify to Fort Worth and for other big winter building rodeos. Kosel says Apollo is feeling great, and after their success in Bracket 6, they will be back in the Semi-finals at Fort Worth.
Hailey Kinsel Sweeps Bracket 4 of Fort Worth Barrel Racing
FORT WORTH — January 27, 2023 —The most successful contestant in Bracket 4 at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is once again a barrel racer and a former Fort Worth champion, and she did so with the fastest time of the 2023 rodeo so far by over a tenth.
Hailey Kinsel, from Cotulla, Texas, and her electric 2011 mare DM Sissy Hayday (PC Frenchmans Hayday x Royal Sissy Irish x Royal Shake Em) won Fort Worth’s legendary event in 2019 when it was held in the historic Will Rogers Coliseum. They came back the first year the rodeo moved to Dickies Arena and got the win again in 2020.
There wasn’t a rodeo in 2021, but it was back full force in 2022 and Kinsel and “Sister” finished as the reserve champions.
The pair is at it again at the $1.2 million 2023 FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament. They won the first and second rounds of Bracket 4, earning $3,520 and a spot in the upcoming Semifinals. They are on pace to become one of the winningest teams in the history of the legendary rodeo.
Former Champions Excel at FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament
FORT WORTH — January 24, 2023 — Five performances of the ProRodeo Tournament are now complete at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
Round 1 of Bracket 3 got underway in Dickies Arena on Tuesday night with Jordon Briggs of Tolar, Texas, atop the leaderboard. Riding her amazing horse Famous Lil Jet (Dash Ta Fame x Blazin Black Beauty x Blazin Jetolena), she added $1,760 to her checking account after she rounded the cloverleaf pattern in 16.58 seconds. Back in 2009, Briggs won her first big rodeo here and was wearing her signature square Fort Worth champions’ buckle on Tuesday.
Briggs and “Rollo” will make their second appearance in Fort Worth on Wednesday night. If they are among the top two money earners in Bracket 3, she will advance to the Semifinals. She is among some very tough competitors in this bracket. Of the eight members of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association on Tuesday’s roster, the fastest times were the last four gunners in the pen.
Molly Otto of Grand Forks, North Dakota, ran before Briggs and set the pace at 16.72 aboard Teasin Dat Guy (Frenchmans Guy x Teasin Jetolena x Blazin Jetolena). Then it was Briggs’ turn. Lisa Lockhart from Oelrichs, South Dakota, was just behind Briggs at 16.60 and finished second aboard young standout Promise Me Fame Guys (Aint Seen Nothin Yet x Bar Blue Lass x FC Aboo). The final barrel racer was a college rodeo athlete, Taycie Matthews from Wynne, Arkansas, riding Fame Fire Rocks (Firewaterontherocks x W R Aces Fame x Dash Ta Fame).
Matthews has qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo twice representing East Mississippi Community College. She has since transferred to the University of West Alabama and is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in business administration and trying to qualify for her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. She finished in third place on Tuesday with a 16.66 and will be the first runner Wednesday night.
Another WPRA member and reigning Fort Worth champion that was successful Tuesday was Kelsie Domer from Dublin, Texas. Kelsie finished the 2022 season 20th in the breakaway roping world championship standings. After winning the title in Fort Worth, she kept competing for a while, then took time off to give birth to her and husband Ryan’s first child last August. Now, going to rodeos is a family affair for the Domers.
Kassie Mowry, Bradi Whiteside Share Victory in Bracket 2 Round 2 of Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo Barrel Racing
FORT WORTH — January 23, 2023 — Monday night in Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo barrel racing saw EquiStat all-time winningest barrel racer Kassie Mowry of Dublin, Texas, tie for the barrel racing win with Bradi Whiteside.
Riding 5-year-old KL Touch Of Heaven (JL Dash Ta Heaven x Junior Country Girl x Deep Note Jr) fresh off his 2022 futurity year in which he earned over $365,000, Mowry chose Fort Worth to debut “Dove” in his first WPRA rodeo performance. The talented gelding’s time of 16.56 secured Mowry a berth in the Wild Card round February 1.
Bradi Whiteside became the first Canadian cowgirl to win a round at this year’s Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo barrel racing. Whiteside, who lives in Longview, Alberta, improved from her Round 1 run by eight-tenths of a second to tie for the win in 16.56 with Mowry. Whiteside was mounted aboard her 2015 mare Slicks Sweet Legacy, by NFR stallion Slick By Design and out of Bars Sweet Legacy by Rare Bar.
Shelley Morgan On Top of Bracket 2 Round 1 at FWSSR
FORT WORTH — January 22, 2023 — Sunday saw a new set of contestants roll into the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo as Bracket 2 competition began. Shelley Morgan of Eustace, Texas, took first place in Round 1 of Bracket 2 at the 2023 Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo barrel racing. The four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier and reigning NFR average winner and her mare HR Fameskissandtell (CEO x Fames Fiery Kiss x Dash Ta Fame) stopped the clock in 16.70 seconds to edge fellow NFR cowgirl Bayleigh Choate by one-hundreth of a second.
Hillman Takes Bracket 1 Round 2 of Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo Barrel Racing
FORT WORTH — January 21, 2023 — Stevi Hillman of Weatherford is always a contender in the barrel racing in Fort Worth. The seven-time NFR qualifier is known for her talent jump-jockeying a variety of young horses, and she is proving it again in 2023. She is riding 2017 mare RV Brijett, by Blazin Jetolena and out of DTF Mellowdoc by Dash Ta Fame, trained and futuritied by Vauna Walker but has made less than half a dozen runs in professional rodeo.
“Brijett” and Hillman finished fourth in the first round after a wider than optimal turn at the first barrel. They ironed out the problem Saturday and won the round by nearly three-tenths of a second, despite having the last run on the ground. The win qualified her for the Wild Card Round, as first-round winner Cheyenne Wimberley of Stephenville, Texas, and Emily Beisel of Weatherford, Oklahoma, who finished second in both rounds of the bracket, advanced to the Semifinals.
The FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament continues 2 p.m. Sunday with a new group of contestants competing in Bracket 2 at Dickies Arena.
Cheyenne Wimberley Wins Opening Night of Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo Barrel Racing
FORT WORTH — January 20, 2023 — The 15-day, $1.2 million Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo ProRodeo Tournament began its third edition at Dickies Arena on Friday night January 20.
Cheyenne Wimberley, a five-time National Finals Rodeo-qualifying barrel racer from Stephenville, Texas, bested a tight field in the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo barrel racing with a time of 16.39 seconds. She rode Royal Blue Fame to the fast time in Fort Worth, a 2014 grey gelding by Dash Ta Fame and out of Eyes Are Blue by Royal Blue Chew Chew.
Wimberley is something of a Renaissance woman — she graduated from Tarleton State University in Stephenville summa cum laude with a degree in clinical rehabilitation and a minor in nutrition. She’s worked as an insurance adjuster, spent time flipping houses and runs her own real estate firm which specializes in farms and ranches, especially horse properties. She and her parents run Cowboy Classic Saddlery, which produces around 1,000 saddles annually, and she’s quite successful on the futurity level of barrel racing as well.
2023 Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo Barrel Racing Results
Semi-Finals 2 February 3 Barrel Racing: 1, Sissy Winn, Corpus Christi, Texas, 16.24, $4,000. 2, Wenda Johnson Pawhuska, Okla., 16.33, $3,000. 3, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 16.43, $3,000. 4, Shelley Morgan, Eustace, Texas, 16.50, $1,000.
Finals qualifiers: Winn, Johnson, Kinsel and Morgan
Semi-Finals 1 February 2 Barrel Racing: 1, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., $16.32, $4,000. 2, (tie) Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, and Jordon Briggs, Tolar, Texas, 16.56, $2,500 each. 4, Sarah Rose Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 16.57, $1,000.
Finals qualifiers: Beisel, Ganter, Briggs and Waguespack
Wild Card Round February 1 Barrel Racing: 1, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 16.30 seconds, $1,000. 2, BryAnna Haluptzok, Tenstrike, Minn., 16.53, $600. 3, Shannon McReynolds, La Luz, N.M., $400.
Wild Card Semi-finals qualifiers: Ganter and Haluptzok
Bracket 7 Round 2 January 31 Barrel Racing: 1, Sarah Rose Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 16.34 seconds, $1,760. 2, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.39, $1,320. 3, Jimmie Smith-Tew, McDade, Texas, 16.51, $880. 4, Margo Crowther, Fort Myers, Fla., 16.63, $440.
Bracket 7 Round 1 January 30 Barrel Racing: 1, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 16.54 seconds, $1,760. 2, Margo Crowther, Fort Myers, Fla., 16.62, $1,320. 3, Emma Charleston, Reeds, Mo., 16.63, $880. 4, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.83, $440.
Bracket 7 Semi-finals qualifiers: Johnson and Waguespack, $1,760 each. Wild Card qualifier: Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, $1,760.
Bracket 6 Round 2 January 29 Barrel Racing: 1, Summer Kosel, Glenham, S.D., 16.57 seconds, $1,760. 2, BryAnna Haluptzok, Tenstrike, Minn., 16.75, $1,320. 3, Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D., 16.79, $880. 4, Paige Jones, Wayne, Okla., 16.94, $440.
Bracket 6 Round 1 January 28 Barrel Racing: 1, Paige Jones, Wayne, Okla., 16.50 seconds, $1,760. 2, Summer Kosel, Glenham, S.D., 16.94, $1,320. 3, BryAnna Haluptzok, Tenstrike, Minn., 17.15, $880. 4, Molly Pritchard, Byers, Colo., 17.16, $440.
Bracket 6 Semi-finals qualifiers: Kosel, $3,080 and Jones, $2,200. Wild Card qualifier: Haluptzok, , $2,200.
Bracket 5 Round 2 January 28 Barrel Racing: 1, Sissy Winn, Corpus Christi, Texas, 16.42 seconds, $1,760. 2, Steely Steiner, Oakley, Utah, 16.62, $1,320. 3, Michelle Darling, Medford, Okla., 16.72, $880. 4, Ivy Saebens, Nowata, Okla., 16.94, $440.
Bracket 5 Round 1 January 27 Barrel Racing: 1, Shannon McReynolds, La Luz, N.M., 16.54 seconds, $1,760. 2, Michelle Darling, Medford, Okla., 16.63, $1,320. 3, Abby Phillips, Marshall, Texas, 16.71, $880. 4, Andrea Busby, Brock, Texas, 17.16, $440.
Bracket 5 Semi-finals qualifiers: Darling, $2,200 and Winn, $1,760. Wild Card qualifier: Shannon McReynolds, La Luz, N.M., $1,760.
Bracket 4 Round 2 January 27 Barrel Racing: 1, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 16.25 seconds, $1,760. 2, Rainey Skelton, Llano, Texas,16.52, $1,320. 3, Rachelle Riggers, Lewiston, Idaho, 16.63, $880. 4, Stephanie Fryar, Waco, Texas, 16.68, $440.
Bracket 4 Round 1 January 26 Barrel Racing: 1, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 16.56 seconds, $1,760. 2, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas., 16.58, $1,320. 3, Rachelle Riggers, Lewiston, Idaho, 16.70, $880. 4, Michelle Alley, Madisonville, Texas, 16.72, $440.
Bracket 4 Semi-finals qualifiers: Kinsel, $3,520, and Riggers, $1,760. Wild card qualifier: Skelton, $1,320.
Bracket 3 Round 2, January 25 Barrel Racing: 1, Jordon Briggs, Tolar, Texas, 16.47 seconds, $1,760. 2,Molly Otto, Grand Forks, N.D., 16.55, $1,320. 3, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 16.61, $880. 4, Taycie Matthews, Wynne, Ark., 16.93, $440.
Bracket 3 Round 1, January 24 Barrel Racing: 1, Jordon Briggs, Tolar, Texas, 16.58 seconds, $1,760. 2, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 16.60, $1,320. 3, Taycie Matthews, Wynne, Ark., 16.66, $880. 4, Molly Otto, Grand Forks, N.D., 16.72, $440.
Bracket 3 Semi-finals qualifiers: Briggs, $3,520, and Lockhart, $2,200. Wild card qualifier: Otto, $1,760.
Bracket 2 Round 2, January 23 Barrel Racing: 1, Kassie Mowry, Dublin, Texas, and Bradi Whiteside, Longview, Alberta, Canada, 16.56 seconds, $1,540 each. 3, Dona Kay Rule, Minco, Okla., 16.62, $880. 4, Shelley Morgan, Eustace, Texas, 16.64, $440.
Bracket 2 Round 1, January 22 Barrel Racing: 1, Shelley Morgan, Eustace, Texas, 16.70 seconds, $1,760. 2, Bayleigh Choate, Fort Worth, Texas, 16.71, $1,320. 3, Dona Kay Rule, Minco, Okla., 16.79, $880. 4, Cassidy Champlin, Pilot Point, Texas, 16.87, $440.
Bracket 2 Semifinals qualifiers: Morgan, $2,200, and Rule, $1,760. Wild Card qualifier: Mowry, $1,540
Bracket 1 Round 2, January 21 Barrel Racing: 1, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 16.59 seconds, $1,760. 2, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 16.86, $1,760. 2, 16.44, $1,320. 3, Sadie Wolaver, Weatherford, Okla., $880. 4, Cheyenne Wimberley, Stephenville, Texas, 21.67, $440.
Bracket 1 Round 1, January 20 Barrel Racing: 1, Cheyenne Wimberley, Stephenville, Texas, 16.39, $1,760. 2, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 16.44, $1,320. 3, Leslie Smalygo, Skiatook, Okla., 16.58, $880. 4, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 16.98.
Bracket 1 Semifinals qualifiers: Beisel, $2,640, and Wimberley, $2,200. Wild Card qualifier: Hillman, $2,200.
Briggs Banks $10K for Texas Champions Challenge Barrel Racing Title at Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
By Blanche Schaefer for Barrel Horse News with Johna Cravens for FWSSR
FORT WORTH — January 16, 2023 — The barrel racing in the Fort Worth Texas Champions Challenge saw domination from Busby Quarter Horses-bred or -owned barrel horses, with Jordon Briggs taking the top spot for $10,000 and Brittany Tonozzi winning second for $4,000, both on Busby-bred mounts Famous Lil Jet and Jets Top Gun, respectively.
2021 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association World Champion Barrel Racer Jordon Briggs of Tolar, Texas, and her 2014 Busby-bred gelding Famous Lil Jet (Dash Ta Fame x Blazin Black Beauty x Blazin Jetolena) stopped the clock in 16.662 seconds to win the elimination round.
Two-time world champion Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi was second with a 16.961 time, riding newly Busby Quarter Horses-owned 2017 mare Born On Derby Day (Freckles Ta Fame x KR Last Fling x A Streak Of Fling) in the mare’s pro rodeo debut performance. Bred by Joe and Carla Spitz but trained, raised, previously owned and campaigned by Ashley Schafer to more than $318,000 in 2022 as a 5-year-old futurity horse, “Derby” sold to the Busbys at the end of the year and made a couple runs in 2023 under new owner Andrea Busby before Tonozzi hopped on for her first-ever run on the mare at the Texas Champions Challenge.
In the final round, Tonozzi changed horses to Busby-owned and -bred 2015 gelding Jets Top Gun (Blazin Jetolena x GL Famous First Lady x Dash Ta Fame), another horse before which she’d never ran, and turned in a time of 16.902 to bag $4,000. Trained and campaigned by Janna Beam Brown to $182,636 in 2020 as a 5-year-old futurity horse, “Benny” was EquiStat’s No. 3-earning horse overall in 2020.
Briggs again rode Rollo in the final go-round and won the $10,000 payout with a 16.851.
Briggs told Pam Minnick of FWSSR that the Fort Worth rodeo, then held in Will Rogers Coliseum, was her first big win in 2009.
“I love this rodeo,” Briggs said. “Rollo and I will be back Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.”
Seven individuals earned $10,000 paychecks at the 2023 Texas Champions Challenge rodeo in Dickies Arena Thursday night. The event featured winners from five iconic Texas rodeos in six events, plus four contestants in freestyle bullfighting.
The format of the Texas Champions Challenge Rodeo featured an elimination round in each event where five contestants competed. The top two returned almost immediately for a head-to-head round, with the winner taking home $10,000 and a bottle of Fort Worth-based TX Whiskey. The runner-up received $4,000, and the three other contestants from the elimination round each received $1,000.
Other barrel racers also chose to step off the mounts fans are used to seeing and give their good backup horses the spotlight, as the money earned in the Texas Champions Challenge doesn’t count toward the world standings nor have an impact on the athletes’ advancement in the FWSSR Pro Rodeo Tournament. Hailey Kinsel jockeyed the Jeff Varner-owned VQ Nonstop Stinson, a 2017 mare trained by Kelsey Lutjen Treharne, by Eddie Stinson and out of Honor This Nonstop by Mr Honor Bound. Emily Miller Beisel rode Ivory On Fire, a 2018 mare by Ivory James and out of Rapid Fire Cash by First Down Laveaux, trained by Shelby Ridling. Cheyenne Wimberley was riding fan-favorite Cfour Tibbie Stinson (Eddie Stinson x Little Fancy Granny x Del Puerto Bill), a 2009 mare trained and jockeyed to seven futurity titles by Kelly Conrado before carrying Ivy Saebens to her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification in 2016.
The third FWSSR Pro Rodeo Tournament rides into Dickies Arena on Friday night January 20 at 7:30 p.m. for the first of 16 performances. The event culminates with the Championship Finals on February 4.
FWSSR Texas Champions Challenge Barrel Racing Results
Barrel Racing Elimination Round: 1, Jordon Briggs, Tolar, Texas, 16.662 seconds. 2, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas, 16.961. 3, Cheyenne Wimberley, Stephenville, Texas, 17.048. 4, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 21.735. Head-to-Head Round: 1, Briggs, 16.851 seconds, $10,000. 2, Tonozzi, 16.902, $4,000.
Champs Repeat at Fort Worth’s Cowboys of Color Rodeo
FORT WORTH — January 16, 2023 —The Cowboys of Color Invitational Rodeo presented by T39 Telemundo took center stage in Dickies Arena on Monday at the 126th edition of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
The Cowboys of Color Rodeo, founded by Cleo Hearn, brings cowboys and cowgirls of all races and cultures together for events which help fund scholarships to assist young competitors in attending college. Held annually on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the multi-cultural event features African American, Hispanic and Native American athletes competing in traditional rodeo events from bronc riding, to roping, to bull riding.
The event includes a rodeo opening ceremony and incorporates traditional rodeo pageantry and patriotic music along with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black national anthem.
Special featured performances included virtuoso violinist Armando Vance from Fort Worth, the Escaramuza — a group of eight women riding sidesaddle in beautiful traditional Escaramuza dresses as they perform synchronized maneuvers that require perfect timing and concentration, and the Circle L5 Riding Club, Forth Worth’s all-Black riding club formed more than 70 years ago, with their precision horseback drill team.
The theme of this year’s competition seemed to be repeat champions and winners in three events were also winners here last year.
Liza Shannon of Kilgore, Texas, was the only barrel racer to best the 17-second mark. Her time of 16.99 seconds aboard 2014 mare DH Sugarleta Corona (Corona B x PC Sugarleta Oaks x Docs Oaks Sugar) earned her $2,000 and a second consecutive Cowboys of Color championship in Fort Worth.
The 126th edition of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo continues through February 4, at the Will Rogers complex.
FWSSR Cowboys of Color Invitational Rodeo Barrel Racing Results
Barrel Racing: 1, Liza Shannon, Kilgore, Texas, 16.99 seconds, $2,000. 2, Brittney Jones, Lipan, Texas, 17.24, $1,500. 3, Kanasha Jackson, Hempstead, Texas, 17.40, $1,000. 4, Chelesa White, Angleton, Texas, 18.58, $500.
