March 5, 2021 — Fort Worth, Texas — RFD-TV’s The American Semifinals are officially in the books for 2021, and Casey Mathis finished the Semis in style with the second-fastest time of the performances to win the third perf in 13.426 aboard her main mount SH Stylish And Sly.
“It felt incredible. It’s probably the nicest run I’ve had in this arena so far,” Mathis said. “I couldn’t ask for anything else. It’s such a rush. He likes it!”
The pair started the week Monday in the slack round with a 13.736 to claim the No. 22 spot out of 30 performances qualifiers. The Washoe Valley, Nevada, 17-year-old is thankful for “Slyster’s” heart and consistency.
“He’s felt awesome,” Mathis said. “He’s been really consistent with me and has tried his best with every run.”
The 2011 gelded grandson of High Brow Cat stands at 14.3 hands and is all cow-bred, by Sly Cooper and out of Stylish Spice by Docs Stylish Oak. He’s proven he can compete at the elite level in barrel racing, as he and Mathis won the 2020 West Coast Barrel Racing Association championship together in October 2020. Slyster is also Mathis’ main breakaway roping horse.
“Ever since I’ve started running him, he’s always done his best for me and has been really successful,” Mathis said. “He’s really smooth.”
When it was all said and done, Brandon Cullins and Dunn Ranch’s superstar gelding MCM Imasharpguy’s 13.402 from Performance Two held on to win the Semifinals for $15,500.
Kassie Mowry also become the first barrel racer in RFD-TV’s The American history to qualify two horses to AT&T Stadium. The American announced today she will be eligible to run both. The Dublin, Texas, professional horse trainer and $3.5 million earner qualified her own CP He Will Be Epic through the slack into Performance Two, and Mowry also qualified the Kristen Williams-owned gelding Epic Guy through the Buy-Back round into Performance One. The two horses finished fifth and sixth overall in the performances.
Also announced during Friday’s performance, RFD-TV elected to extend a last-minute Exemption Invitation to 7-year-old Charlie Sohrt to compete at AT&T Stadium in The American. Sohrt and 13-year-old gelding It Pays More To Win finished 25th in the slack round with a time of 13.758 to advance to the Semifinals performances. Sohrt and “Cash” made their bid for AT&T Stadium in Thursday night’s performance and hit a barrel. During Friday’s performance, Sohrt took centerstage inside Cowtown Coliseum as RFD-TV extended the Exemption Invitation in front of a packed house of rodeo fans.
Sohrt will compete alongside the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association top 10 invitees as well as the top 10 Semifinals qualifiers and Exemption Invitee Dona Kay Rule, who was offered an Exemption Invitation in early 2021 after being unable to compete at the National Finals Rodeo due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The long round of RFD-TV’s The American kicks off at AT&T Stadium on March 6 at 6 p.m. CT. Find all the details on the event here.
RFD-TV’s The American Semifinals Results
Top 10 advance to AT&T Stadium
- Brandon Cullins, MCM Imasharpguy, 13.402
- Casey Mathis, SH Stylish And Sly, 13.426
- Taylor Smith, Cash Flow Depot, 13.573
- 4/5 Janna Brown, DH Jess Stellar, 13.649
- 4/5 Kassie Mowry, CP He Will Be Epic, 13.649
- Kassie Mowry (Buy-Back), Epic Guy, 13.678
- Shannon Lillard, LZK Dashus Rockstar, 13.702
- Cassidy Teague, Tres Socks, 13.709
- Sarah McCormick, Down Town Streakin, 13.716
- Cayla Small (Buy-Back), Slick N Black, 13.717
- Ilyssa Glass, Championofthehouse, 13.723
- Emily Wilkins, Chasin Easy Money, 13.815
- Fonda Melby, RF Back For The Cash, 13.816
- Troy Crumrine, Blazin Boss, 13.898
- Jamie Steiner, XS Dirty Lil Secret, 13.905
- Abigail Poe, Furious Interlude, 13.949
- Kenna Squires, NB Ladybird, 13.956
- Haley Wolfe, Iron Eyes Rio Bravo, 13.960
- Cindy Patrick, Flitin N Dashin, 13.995
- Sue Smith, Dashs Centerfold, 18.489*
- Bailey Belcher, Pocket Coin Five, 18.581*
- Ali Kate Kelleher, Dis Kat Kin Skat, 18.695*
- Trinity Beauvais, Eyes Okey Dokey, 18.700*
- Erin Zoucha, VF Look Im Back, 18.737*
- Kortney Kizer, HPQ Hop Ta Cerveza, 18.883*
- Paris Jean, Fame In A Fling, 18.904*
- Bristan Kennedy, Copies Famous Saint, 18.907*
- Charlie Sohrt, It Pays More To Win, 18.962*
- Tammy Ochs, Return Ofthe Chicado, 23.839**
- Ryann Pedone, JS Milo And Stitch, 24.076**
- Shannon McReynolds, Wood Bring Bullion, 24.371**
- Jenny Born, Hot Lil Scooter, 24.395**
- Emma Smith, One First Class Lady, 29.672***
*denotes penalty
RFD-TV’s The American Semifinals Performance Three Results
- Casey Mathis, SH Stylish And Sly, 13.426
- Cassidy Teague, Tres Socks, 13.709
- Cayla Small, Slick N Black, 13.717
- Fonda Melby, RF Back For The Cash, 13.816
- Abigail Poe, Furious Interlude, 13.949
- Kenna Squires, NB Ladybird, 13.956
- Haley Wolfe, Iron Eyes Rio Bravo, 13.960
- Ali Kate Kelleher, Dis Kat Kin Skat, 18.695*
- Kortney Kizer, HPQ Hop Ta Cerveza, 18.883*
- Ryann Pedone, JS Milo And Stitch, 24.076**
*denotes penalty
The American Semifinals Performance Rounds full results
The American Semifinals Buy-Back Round full results
