Open 1D average champion Austyn Tobey and slot race winner Alyssa Gabrielson were familiar faces at the 10th annual Pro Elite World Challenge Finals at the R&J Arena in Verndale, Minnesota.
Minnesota natives and loyal Pro Elite World Challenge contestants Austyn Tobey and Alyssa Gabrielson made their way home for the biggest finals in Minnesota state history — a can’t-miss event to both Tobey and Gabrielson.
The Pro Elite World Challenge kicked off its 10th annual event with $40,000 added from October 13–15 at R&J Arena in Verndale, Minnesota.
“I’ve been to this event through three different facilities,” Open 1D average champion Austyn Tobey said. “I think I have been going to this race since I was 6 years old, and I will not miss it. I will be there every year. There is always so much kindness. Everyone is there to see you succeed.”
The high-quality finals was made possible with the contributions from top sponsors: Spryng, Sharptruck, Muvadu, A Bit of Tack, Redmond Equine, Med-Vet Pharmaceuticals and Pro Elite World Challenge. With the help of the PEWC supporters, the October function dedicated recognition and financial support to breast cancer fighter Elise Brehm.
“[The production] handed out 13 PEWC Foundation scholarships and raised money for Elise Brehm to help her medical bills from breast cancer,” PEWC staff member Verna Hultman said.
Open 1D Average Champion Austyn Tobey And Tr Lying Badger
Life changes for 22-year-old Austyn Tobey landed her doing what she loves.
“I just graduated from Bemidji State University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry,” Tobey said. “The plan was to go to medical school to become a radiologist, but horses have always been my passion. Long story short, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree and never went back [to school]. I guess now I’m a chemist barrel racer.”
Tobey has been around horses since a young age. By the time she was 6 years old, Tobey started riding her mom’s Open 1D horses.
Now Tobey commits her time taking in consignment horses, training colts, going to the futurities and entering professional rodeos. Consignment horses carried her to a successful PEWC Finals and several wins this year.
“I won the Saturday and Sunday Open on Streakin Silkysmooth,” Tobey said. “The average was based on Friday and Saturday runs, which is where TR Lying Badger comes in.”
Streakin Silkysmooth (A Smooth Guy x Marks Soft Tears x DE Lightning Bug) was a consignment horse through Tobey trained by Ceri Ward.
“I had her for about two months [on consignment],” Tobey said. “She won just about everything there is to win in a span of two weeks. She is a nice, easy mare, and she found a great home.”
TR Lying Badger (Lions Share Of Fame x TR Dashing Badger x Mr Illuminator) and Streakin SilkySmooth both came to Tobey on consignment, but TR Lying Badger never left.
“‘Bam Bam’ came in on consignment in August the same day as Streakin Silkysmooth,” Tobey explained. “She was supposed to come in and be sold for a family friend.”
In the first two weeks, Tobey jockeyed Bam Bam at professional rodeos. Up until that point, Bam Bam had never entered a professional rodeo. The pair won their third rodeo together, and the rest was history. Tobey bought Bam Bam after that rodeo.
“By our third run, we won the rodeo,” Tobey said. “I came out of the arena and said, ‘I need to figure out a way to have this mare.’ She fit me to a T. She’s a little blaze-faced sorrel mare, and if you know me, that’s what I ride.”
Bam Bam is a 2016 mare trained by Kelsey Treharne. She is by Lions Share Of Fame (Dash Ta Fame x On A Bunny x On A High), a son of leading $30 million sire Dash Ta Fame.
Bam Bam is out of Jill Moody’s great National Finals Rodeo mare TR Dashing Badger (Mr Illuminator x TR Double Cash x Texas High Dasher), who has lifetime earnings of over $850,000.
“Dolly” carried Moody to four NFR qualifications, two NFR average championships and two WPRA Reserve World Championship titles.
“Bam Bam took onto the professional rodeos hard,” Tobey said. “We were no worse than top five at every rodeo I ran her at in the month and a half timespan.”
The Pro Elite World Challenge Finals was the first run the team made together indoors.
“I really did not know how any of these horses would do in a little indoor like this,” Tobey said. “I have only been running them in big pens outside. They all ended up surprising me. They all worked great and exceeded my expectations.”
The team of consignment horses Tobey entered stepped up to the plate. Together, the pairs banked a total $8,725 in earnings in the weekend.
“I’ve won a lot of averages and a lot of money at this barrel race,” Tobey said. “The year prior I almost broke the arena record and ran one of only three 13-second patterns on my good pro rodeo mare Designed In Red, who I won $100,000 on. This weekend tends to treat me very well.”
Tobey has won a go-round in the Open the past five consecutive years, collecting a total of over $25,000 in PEWC Finals earnings. But of all the wins, the Open 1D average win with Bam Bam held a significant sentimental value.
“At the end of the summer, [Designed In Red] ended up with an injury, leaving her in recovery for at least six months,” Tobey said. “I was able to take Bam Bam to the same race I did really well the year prior on my good rodeo mare, who was left at home on stall rest. Bam Bam took her place. It was a really special win.”
Slot Race Champion Alyssa Gabrielson And Rare Kelly
Alyssa Gabrielson is a recurring name at the top of the leaderboard and a two-time PEWC Slot Race Champion.
“I won this slot race in 2016 on a mare I raised and trained,” Gabrielson said. “Then I was second in 2021 on another horse I trained. It is really cool to get the win again on another horse.”
SF Shecouldbefrench (Frenchmans Feature x Honor Her Offer x Jet Of Honor) carried Gabrielson to the win in 2016. In 2021, Cat Whisper (Soul Of The Game x Good Time Dash x First Down Dash) landed second in the Open 1D average with a 14.210.
A 13.888 aboard 4-year-old Rare Kelly (Darkelly x Man Its Getting Hot x Rare Bar) in the slot race was the ticket to win this year’s PEWC Finals slot race championship for $2,500.
“Our story so far is not very long,” Gabrielson said. “I sold one of my rodeo horses and decided to buy a couple more futurity colts. ‘Kelly’ was one of them. He was actually being held back for his 5-year-old year, so he hadn’t really been out to do exhibitions much.”
Gabrielson bought Kelly from Rylee Shields in April 2023 and decided to run the gelding as a 4-year-old futurity horse.
“I bought him and entered him the next weekend at a futurity, and he placed third in the average,” Gabrielson said. “I thought that was cool. He’s pretty easy; you just go out and turn three barrels.”
By the first week of June, Kelly won his first futurity and started to reach the next level.
“After that I said, ‘Oh geez, I might actually have a really special horse here,’” Gabrielson said. “He has been on-point since and so consistent. I’ve never rode a horse that tries so hard to be good. I don’t think he realizes he’s so nice, he just wants to do good for you so bad.”
Kelly’s style is described as quick and snappy, with a substantial amount of power on the backside of a barrel. Behind his athletic ability, he has a loving, sweet personality, Gabrielson said.
“He is so loving. He is the biggest cuddle bear,” Gabrielson said. “He will run from the back of the pasture to meet you.”
Originally, Kelly was not planned to run in the PEWC slot race. The stars aligned and gave him a chance to shine, Gabrielson explained.
“I actually had another mare entered in the slot race that I also ran,” Gabrielson said. “After I ran Kelly earlier that day, an extra spot opened up in the slot race. My mom came up to me and said that she’ll gamble her money on Kelly if she gets half the money.”
The pen set up at the R&J Arena is where Kelly excels, Gabrielson said, so the situation was just right.
“He’s so honest and talented anywhere I ran him,” Gabrielson said. “But these smaller pens are definitely his jam.”
Not only did Kelly take the win in the slot race by three-tenths of a second, he also tipped a barrel the following day to win the Open by two-tenths of a second and clock the fastest time of the weekend.
Gabrielson dedicates a well-deserved thank-you to her mom for gambling on a 4-year-old in the slot race, as well as Unbeetable Feeds, Complete Equine Performance, M2 Performance Horses, 14.2 Hand Tack, Shiloh Saddlery, BEMER Horse Set and HayChix.
This article was originally published in the January 2024 issue of Barrel Horse News.
