December 8, 2020—Arlington, Texas— It took five rounds to find his footing inside Globe Life Field, but in Round Six of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Namgis D 33 led Emily Miller Beisel to her third-career NFR go-round win.

Beisel attributes her struggles on “Chongo” in the first few rounds to the gelding’s stage fright from the shift in atmosphere that Globe Life Field presented in contrast to the Thomas and Mack Center arena in Las Vegas.

“The first night I brought him in mid-calf roping, and he was pretty nervous. He looked up and saw the bright lights and the walls and the crowd,” Beisel said. “This is a huge stadium, and it was intimidating to him. I thought the second night, I’ll bring him in early and get him more accustomed to it and he’ll settle down, and it was actually quite the opposite effect.”

After Round Two, Beisel made the decision to give Chongo a break and an opportunity to relax. She got on Biddin On Fame (“Beau”) for Rounds Three and Four before getting back on Chongo for Rounds Five and Six. In that time, she gathered a game plan to make sure Chongo had a nonthreatening experience for the next rounds. She opted to warmup outside of Globe Life Field in an outdoor warmup area far away from others.

“I warmed up by the tent stalls. I was the only one out there, and it was quiet. I kept him really calm, and I kept him in the tunnel until they went to set the barrels,” Beisel said. “Basically we walked out of the tunnel and walked straight into the alleyway.”

Once she made those adjustments, Chongo focused in on the task at hand and turned in a 17.01 on top of the ground as the first runner of the night. The time held through the remaining 14 challengers.

“It felt great. He was right in my hands. He felt really good last night too, so I was excited,” Beisel said. “[The] changes in our warmup really made a huge difference in his mentality in his run, and I was really looking forward to him staying quiet. I feel like I have a game plan that’s finally working for us. The ground felt really good—of course it was great to be top of the ground. They are doing a good job with it this week, so we’re very appreciative of that.”

While Beisel and Chongo won two rounds at the 2019 Wrangler NFR right off the bat, they struggled in the first two rounds in Arlington. Now, the duo from Weatherford, Oklahoma, is on the right track, but Beisel admits she expected a different outcome coming into this year’s NFR.

“The Thomas and Mack so surprised me. I never expected to go out there and have that much success, truly. Still to this day, I’m in awe of how he performed,” Beisel said. “I had a lot higher expectations here. I really thought since I won most of my money on standard patterns on him that this was a better setup for him, but I never accounted for the atmosphere change. It really is different. In Vegas, we are in a tunnel or outside in a tent where it is quiet and you don’t hear the crowd. When I got him in here he got a little bug-eyed. I learned a lot about my horse the first two rounds.”

Hailey Kinsel holds onto her lead in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world standings and the aggregate after making a horse change in Round Six. She opted to step off DM Sissy Hayday for a break and instead ran Clay and Cassidy (Kruse) Deen’s 2012 gelding Outta Clear Blue (PC Frenchmans Hayday x Favorite Six x Sixes Pick).

Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi still trails Kinsel by a small margin in both the aggregate and the world standings.

Jill Wilson 2020 NFR
Jill Wilson and Lean Mean Blue Dean are steadily moving up in the aggregate at the 2020 Wrangler NFR, sitting third with a time of 104.69 after Round Six. Photo by Kenneth Springer

ROUND SIX RESULTS

Rank, Name, Horse, Time, Money Won

  1. Emily Miller Beisel, Namgis D 33, 17.01, $26,230.77
  2. Lisa Lockhart, Rosas Cantina CC, 17.07, $20,730.77
  3. Stevi Hillman, MCM Imasharpguy, 17.11, $15,653.85
  4. Jill Wilson, Lean Mean Blue Dean, 17.19, $11,000
  5. Wenda Johnson, SR Industry Titan, 17.29, $6,769.23
  6. Tiany Schuster, Famous Mic Guy Ver, 17.35, $4,230.77
  7. Jessie Telford, Famous Cool Whip, 17.46
  8. Jimmie Smith, Lena On The Rocks, 17.63
  9. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Ima Famous Babe, 17.64
  10. Jessica Routier, Fiery Miss West, 17.65
  11. Cheyenne Wimberley, KN Fabs Mist Of Fame, 17.72
  12. Hailey Kinsel, Outta Clear Blue, 17.89
  13. Ryann Pedone, HP Dash Ta Fiesta, 18.56
  14. Brittney Barnett, Chicks Keen O Pocopoo, 22.84*
  15. Shelley Morgan, HR Fameskissandtell, 23.26*

*denotes penalty

AGGREGATE ON SIX RUNS

Rank, Name, Time on six runs

  1. Hailey Kinsel, 103.8
  2. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 104.2
  3. Jill Wilson, 104.69
  4. Jessica Routier, 105.09
  5. Jessie Telford, 105.16
  6. Jimmie Smith, 105.52
  7. Ryann Pedone, 107.46
  8. Emily Miller Beisel, 109.33
  9. Tiany Schuster, 110.22
  10. Shelley Morgan, 110.24
  11. Cheyenne Wimberley, 110.94
  12. Wenda Johnson, 111.14
  13. Stevi Hillman, 113.64
  14. Brittney Barnett, 115.59
  15. Lisa Lockhart, 118.38

WPRA WORLD STANDINGS

Rank, Name, Hometown, Earnings

  1. Hailey Kinsel, $187,883.94
  2. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, $169,494.07
  3. Jimmie Smith, $128,752.83
  4. Lisa Lockhart, $108,865.68
  5. Stevi Hillman, $106,811.77
  6. Tiany Schuster, $101,021.92
  7. Shelley Morgan, $98,613.42
  8. Jill Wilson, $79,870.97
  9. Cheyenne Wimberley, $79,039.30
  10. Emily Miller Beisel, $78,618.96
  11. Dona Kay Rule, $77,453.54
  12. Jessica Routier, $77,024.78
  13. Jessie Telford, $59,477.20
  14. Brittney Barnett, $59,296.10
  15. Wenda Johnson, $56,722.37
  16. Ryann Pedone, $52,580.60

* No. 16-ranked Jessie Telford replaced No. 3-ranked Dona Kay Rule at the Wrangler NFR

Author

Kailey Sullins is editor of Barrel Horse News, and an avid barrel racer and breakaway roper. Email comments or questions to [email protected]

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