The narrowed down field of 90 Semi Finalists in the WPRA barrel race will begin taking their turn, 10 a performance, with the Tuesday, Feb. 5 matinee performance and end with the Saturday, Feb. 9 matinee. The top 12 will run in the Fort Worth Finals on Saturday night, Feb. 9, where the Best Dressed among them will receive a check for $5,000 from the Jerry Ann Taylor Best Dressed Memorial Fund. 
Fresh off a $10,677 championship win at Denver, Melby described her run at Fort Worth as awesome. “A lot of times I’ll whip him going to the third barrel just to make sure we get by it. But I never got my hand off the horn tonight going to the third so I just squeezed him. And I know I sounded like a wild Indian running home because I knew we had a good run going and I wanted to keep him running,” said Melby, who qualified for her first Wrangler NFR in 2011 riding a black mare she called Beauty.
Former Fort Worth champion Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., turned in the fastest time of the 12th performance during the Friday, Feb. 1 matinee running a 16.62 aboard her 11-year-old gray gelding she calls Goose. “You can’t image how good it felt to make a good run here,” said Poppino. “I think he’s feeling good and they’ve got to feel good before they can work good.”
After Melby’s and Foutch’s fast times were posted during the 13th performance, Kassidy Dennison, Tohatchi, N.M., was the fastest in the 14th perf with a 16.79 run aboard her 8-year-old gelding she calls Eagle. “I didn’t think we did as good as we good, so we have some room for improvement when we hopefully come back for the Semi Finals,” said Dennison.
2007 WPRA World Champion and former Fort Worth champion Kay Blandford, Sutherland Springs, Texas, was the fastest during the Saturday matinee 15th performance. Clocking a 16.69 riding her famed mare Talents Dark Angel, aka “Angel.” After winning a third place, $3,500 check at Odessa, Blandford said her mare felt a bit “rusty.” “She got away from me at the top of the alley the minute they opened the gate to let us out of the holding pen. She ran half her race before we ever got to the first barrel. I could feel her giving out before we got back in the alley from the third barrel. She’s never done that to me here.”
Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore., and her 2012 Wrangler NFR average winning mount, Judge Buy Cash, aka “Jethro,” were the fastest in the Saturday night’s 16th perf with a 16.49. Mays drew up in the most talented group of 10 that will run at Fort Worth with seven of the 10 being former Wrangler NFR qualifiers including three World champions—Kappy Allen, Mary Burger and Mary Walker. The time places her third in the go round.
Former NFR qualifier Jackie Dube-Jatzlau, Giddings, Texas, rode her 6-year-old sorrel mare Catch The Rain aka “Pudden” to the fastest time honors in Sunday’s matinee, which was the 17th performance. Posting a 16.67 assures the pair a second trip around the course in Ft. Worth.
“She’s not been to any pro rodeos before here,” said Jatzlau. “I ran her in six amateur rodoes last summer before she got cut in the fence. She ran really solid today. I wasn’t worried about her turning and she didn’t let me down.” Pudden is out of one of Jatzlau’s top futurity and rodeo horses, Takin On The Bug.
12th Performance, Friday matinee, Feb. 1, 2013
Tana Poppino 16.62
Tammi Reynolds 16.87
Kylee Schumacher 17.03
Savannah Reeves 17.12
Tana Renick 17.30
Marvel Murphy 17.41
Renea Bolling 17.68
Jamie Ashford 17.71
Syd Wheeler 17.76
13th Performance, Friday night, Feb. 1, 2013
Jane Melby 16.38
Natalie Foutch 16.45
Holly Cauthen 16.61
Trula Churchill 16.61
Lindsay Sears 16.76
Nicole Yost 16.78
Kim Schulze 16.85
McKinley Goodger 17.40
Becky Nix 19.08
Paige Conrado NT
14th Performance, Saturday morning, Feb. 2, 2013
Kassidy Dennison 16.79
Ellie Dabney 16.84
Rachel Primm 17.05
Debra Cooper 17.16
Heather Wilson 17.17
June Holeman 17.20
Kayce Warren 17.21
Heidi Tillard 22.25
Nicole Deason NT
Jonee Crozier T.O.
15th Performance, Saturday matinee, Feb. 2, 2013
Kay Blandford 16.69
Rainy Graham 16.96
Jymmy Kay Cox 17.00
Marisa Simpson 17.31
Rachel Underwood 17.59
Polly Hunter 18.18
Jolee Lautaret 19.18
Lacey Donegan 22.17
Dolly Lautaret 22.33
Nikki Steffes N.T.
16th performance, Saturday night, Feb. 2, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Brenda Mays 16.49
Kendra Dickson 16.52
Mary Burger 16.68
Angie Meadors 16.79
Molly Powell 17.06
Clay Sewalt 17.14
Annesa Self 17.17
Jana Turner 17.26
Mary Walker 21.68
Kappy Allen 22.91
17th performance, Sunday matinee, Feb. 3, 2013, 2:00 p.m.
Jackie Jatzlau 16.67
Brittany Pozzi 16.75
Jessi Fish 16.94
Mary Smothers 16.99
Sheena Robbins 17.06
Layna Kight 17.08
Lisa Kaul 17.08
Tammy Fischer 17.67
Kelley Carrington 21.78
Lisa Ogden 21.96
18th Performance, Ft. Worth, Texas, Sunday night, 7:30 p.m., Feb. 3, 2013
Shada Brazil 16.62
Whitney Baker 16.63
Sherry Cervi 16.68
Sue Smith 16.80
Kelli Tolbert 16.93
Lainie Whitmire 17.53
Kyra Stierwalt 17.65
Brooke Jeter 21.83
Sierra Dawn Thomas 22.25
Kelly Allen 26.27
