Over my 10 years of working for Barrel Horse News, I’ve heard numerous trainers, barrel racers, pro rodeo winners and world champions say that when it’s someone’s time to win, there’s no stopping it — it’s like divine timing. That seemed especially true at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. For those of you who were following along as Hailey Kinsel and Kassie Mowry battled it out each night in Las Vegas for the top spot in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, it was as exciting of an NFR as I can remember. It was truly a horserace to the finish. As the saying goes, it was Kassie’s time to win. Her magnificent horse Force The Goodbye, who was owned by Kassie’s late finacé Michael Boone, seemed truly unstoppable. They won five consecutive rounds en route to the world title and turned in the fastest time of this year’s NFR, coming within eight-hundredths of a second from tying the arena record. Again, it seemed the world title for Kassie was simply divine timing.
Each year, the February issue highlights the newly crowned WPRA World Champion Barrel Racer as well as all the highlights from the Wrangler NFR. We congratulate Kassie on her world championship as well as each of the top 15 ladies for their qualification. Find out all the details from the NFR beginning on page 46.
This month is also the Mare and Foal Issue, and divine timing seems to be the theme of the issue. We take a look at how mare owners and breeders experience that perfect timing of breeding mares to raise winners of their own in Tanya Randall’s feature “Breeding to Keep,” beginning on page 32. Plus, we take a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to manage a mare facility on page 26 and dive deep into the science behind Platinum Performance’s newest study on aged-broodmare nutrition on page 38.
As always, we also showcase the biggest events of the year, from the NFR to the Better Barrel Races OKC Futurity to the All In Barrel Race and everything in between. Don’t miss all the best event coverage of the season.
We hope you enjoy this issue as you ring in the New Year. Be sure to stay up-to-date online at barrelhorsenews.com as BHN staff bring you the latest news, entertainment and training tips.
Until next time, stay safe.
— Kailey Sullins
Get your copy of the February 2025 issue here.
