Hunter rode Flit N Fizz aka “Fuzz” to the top of the leader board, raising the bar for fast times as their Round No. 5 run moved to the top as the fastest time ran at the NFR this year. After making a few adjustments Hunter and Fuzz fired down the Thomas and Mack Center alleyway in prime form.

“We were having a little bit of trouble on that first barrel and it was costing us some time. Fred (Hunter’s husband) and I have been watching the videos and we wanted to make an adjustment and give Fuzz just a little bit more room. He said, ‘Just sit quiet on him, don’t push him through there and be smoother and not try to be so fast.’ It just seemed to work and that horse just wanted to work for me tonight.

“I don’t think it’s settled in yet,” Hunter continued of winning the round. “This is really not a Fuzz pen… here you have to run into that alley way to go out and he’s a very cautious horse, so I haven’t been able to get him to run all the way out. Last year he struggled here a little bit, so we’re just doing everything we can to help him.”

Fuzz is the 15-year-old son of Dr Nick Bar and out of Sting It, who is by Power Train. Hunter has campaigned Fuzz for the first five rounds, however she said she plans to give the great gelding a rest for the next few rounds. Expect to see Hunter’s back-up mount, Epidirtmus aka “Nova” owned by Gary and Mary Lee Maxfield for rounds six and seven.

Nancy Hunter and Flit N Fizz wind Round No. 5 of the Wrangler NFR.Nancy Hunter and Flit N Fizz wind Round No. 5 of the Wrangler NFR.

“Last year I ran him all 10 runs and the last couple of runs he just got tired,” Hunter said of Fuzz. “So, we tried to come up with a game plan. You can see the ground is making it a little different. Towards the bottom it’s getting harder and he’s kind of a frontend-y horse so if there’s nothing to hold him there he’ll panic a little bit. So we thought about it a little bit and I said, ‘You know when I’m running at 15th and 13th on that ground it’s going to be dang hard to get a check anyway,’ and I don’t want to scare him and if I can let him rest from now until Thursday that’s a pretty good rest. So I talked to (the Maxfields) and they agreed to let me ride (Nova). He’s a real easy transition for me. He’s 15 and he’s a campaigner; he’s been all over the country. Nova handles the hard ground better (than Fuzz). I worked him here this morning and he worked great, so I’m bringing him out and Fuzz is getting a rest.”

With Hunter’s Round No. 5 win she currently sits at the No. 7 position in the world standings race.

Reigning world champion, Fallon Taylor rode Flos Heiress to the No. 2 position with a 13.71-second run. Taylor has earned $54,788 in this year’s finals and currently sits at No. 5 in the world standings and seventh in the aggregate. Lisa Lockhart aboard An Okie With Cash kept their hold on the world standings with a third place paycheck in round five. She also moved into the No. 1 spot in the aggregate race. Lockhart has a total of $231,328 in world standings earnings. She sits atop the leaderboard while No. 2 ranked Sarah Rose McDonald is climbing her way up the standings, currently with $197,484 in total world earnings, which include her Round No. 5 paycheck for sixth place in the round.

Taylor Jacob took home the fourth place paycheck in the round when she rode Honor Thy Frenchman to a time of 13.76. Coming into the Finals ranked No. 9, she currently holds the No. 6 position. Callie DuPerier rode  Rare Dillion to the fifth place paycheck when they turned in a time of 13.86. DuPerier came into the Finals ranked No. 1 and has slid to No. 3.

            Don’t miss the February issue of Barrel Horse News to read in-depth coverage of all the great stories from the 2015 Wrangler NFR.

Barrel Racing Results – Fifth Go Round:

1.Nancy Hunter, 13.61 $26,231

2. Fallon Taylor, 13.71, $20,731

3. Lisa Lockhart, 13.75, $15,654

4. Taylor Jacob, 13.76, $11,000

5. Callie DuPerier, 13.86, $6,769

6. Sarah Rose McDonald, 13.97, $4,231

7. Mary Walker, 14.00

8. Cassidy Kruse, 14.06

9/10. Michele McLeod, 14.11

9/10. Sherry Cervi, 14.11

11. Jackie Ganter, 14.32

12. Deb Guelly, 14.35

13. Vickie Carter, 14.46

14. Carley Richardson, 15.05

15. Jana Bean, 24.37

 

Aggregate:

1. Lisa Lockhart, 69.43 seconds on five

2. Cassidy Kruse, 69.58

3. Callie DuPerier, 70.23

4. Jackie Ganter, 70.81

5. Sherry Cervi, 70.89

6. Sarah Rose McDonald, 74.35

7. Fallon Taylor, 74.65

8. Mary Walker, 75.39

9. Michele McLeod, 75.48

10. Carley Richardson, 76.47

11. Vickie Carter, 76.61

12. Taylor Jacob, 79.27

13. Deb Guelly, 81.73

14. Nancy Hunter, 84.79

15. Jana Bean, 91.28

World Standings:

1. Lisa Lockhart, $231,328

2. Sarah Rose McDonald, $197,484

3. Callie DuPerier, $195,961

4. Cassidy Kruse, $163,269

5. Fallon Taylor, $151,617

6. Taylor Jacob, $138,739

7. Nancy Hunter, $138,416

8. Mary Walker, $135,758

9. Michele McLeod, $117,628

10. Sherry Cervi, $114,744

11. Carley Richardson, $101,147

12. Jackie Ganter, $87,780

13. Vickie Carter, $72,768

14. Jana Bean, $70,162

15. Deb Guelly, $69,769

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