Hailey Krahenbuhl’s name came up often on The Money Barrel’s Rundown series this past year, and for good reason.
Her horse, Saaul Good, has been winning across the industry, and the pair will compete at the American Rodeo later this month. From a show jumping background to now competing on the biggest stages in barrel racing, Krahenbuhl is someone who genuinely loves the horse and the sport.
At the American West Contender Regional Finals, Krahenbuhl knocked the second barrel in round one after an offset pattern put it tight against the wall. She scratched from round two. Then entered the redemption round first, and drew last in the drag.
“The ground is pretty heavy there, it’s very sandy, almost like beach sand. I’m like, I don’t even know the last time I ran him last in the drag. Is he going to be okay? Is he going to be able to get through it? And I mean, we just had one heck of a run and he stood up everywhere. He kind of slipped a little bit on the third barrel going into it, but he was just so strong coming home. It was just crazy. And then we ended up winning the redemption round.”
Third-fastest time of the rodeo.
In the finals, Krahenbuhl needed a top-five finish to qualify for The American. She ran the fastest time of the event with a mistake at the third barrel. She talks about what the hours leading up to that run actually felt like.
“I was so nervous all day. I wouldn’t say that I was in a bad mood, I just felt sick. I wanted to throw up even driving to the race. I’m like, I’ve worked my whole life for this and this has been my dream to make it to the American. And I’m like, I have an amazing horse, a horse that can do it. So I just remember warming up, I just still felt sick… and then I kind of got this peace and I’m like, well, I think I can go win it. And I definitely gave it my all. I saw Taylor Armenta run the fastest time of the weekend before me and I just kind of went out there. I’m like, he knows what he needs to do. He’s already so fast. And every run we make, he gets faster as the days go on.”
“After he turned that first barrel, I’m like, okay, we’re doing this. And I mean, he just set a run down. Even with a giant mistake at the third barrel, it was incredible, honestly.”
Krahenbuhl had seen Saaul Good on Dale Long’s social media the year before, when he qualified for The American as a 5-year-old. She thought about what it would be like to own a horse like that. Not long after, she was in Texas trying horses and her dad called Dale.
“My dad always wants me to have the best, which I’m very grateful. So he decided to say, ‘Well, do you have anything better?’ And Dale was like, ‘Well, yeah, of course I do.’ And my dad’s like, ‘Well, would you sell it?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, if it’s a good fit.’ And right when I heard him say ‘Sully,’ we were at dinner and my mouth just dropped. I’m like, Dad, you don’t understand, we have to go try this horse. I’ll drive five hours. I don’t even know where he was. I’m like, I’ll drive five hours to go try this horse, I don’t even care. And it ended up just being an hour away. So I mean, right when I sat on him, I had to have him. It was just an instant click, honestly.”
Saaul Good spooks, has an enormous ego, and knows exactly who he is. Krahenbuhl figured out quickly that fighting any of it would cost her.
“I remember whenever we were about to purchase Sully, it was like, you can’t pick on him if he’s spooky. Just ignore it. Don’t try and make a big deal out of it. You just have to let him be a little fresh like that. And I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s just so confident and so fast. I mean, I always tell everyone, I’m like, this horse knows he wins. He knows it and he loves it.”
“He has the biggest personality. Whenever I turn him out with horses, he literally knows how to laugh. He’ll lope around and sometimes he’ll go bite one of my horse’s butts and then he’ll kind of shake his head like he’s laughing. And I’m just like, you are the biggest jerk. And what’s so funny is he’s the laziest horse at home. Riding him, my legs are sore. Sometimes he’ll break down to a trot and I’m loping. I’m like, please go. He literally rides in a snaffle at home. If I wanted to, I wouldn’t even have to ride him in a bridle.”
In 2019 Krahenbuhl had an accident at a show jumping competition and was temporarily paralyzed. C4 and C5. When she tried to go back to riding six months later, the mental side of show jumping wasn’t there anymore.
“To be a show jumper, it’s 90% mental. It’s a very hard and technical sport. And when I tried to go back to riding six months later, it was just hard for me and I didn’t think I could do it anymore. And that’s when I made the full transition to barrel racing and I just had a lot more fun doing that.”
Her identical twin sister still show jumps and just moved to Canada to continue that career. Krahenbuhl says she still does it for fun when she visits, but the mental piece after the fall never fully came back.
Krahenbuhl has worn a Casq Equestrian helmet since her jumping days and believes it saved her life in 2019. She is open about it, teaches lessons in Vegas, and makes it non-negotiable for every student.
“Since I was a show jumper, it’s just been so normal. Definitely when I started the transition to barrel racing, I felt really out of place because I was the only one wearing a helmet and it just felt really weird. But actually my parents forced me to wear one just because they know how dangerous it can be. We all think that riding a horse is one of the most dangerous sports. Okay, well, if it is, then why aren’t we wearing helmets? Football players wear helmets. Bull riders wear helmets. It’s just like anything can happen. Anything can be a freak accident. Whenever I had my accident in 2019, I truly think my helmet saved my life.”
Her jumping background shows up in how she rides, and she has no interest in changing it. Barrel trainers have tried. She gets into why riding English saddles early gave her something most barrel racers are still trying to develop.
“I always get compliments on my seat and one of the most important things I could say is you need to ride an English saddle. It lets you feel things that you can’t feel in a Western saddle. You don’t have a horn to keep you sat down. It’s just all legs. That’s how you ride a horse in the English world and that’s just kind of really helped me learn how to move a barrel horse’s body, which I think is the most important thing. Say if one minute your horse kind of starts to dive in, you have to use your legs. Sometimes it’s going so fast you can’t really use your hands because your hands are on your horn, right?”
She also talks about what it was like coming from a discipline where having a trainer watching every ride is expected, to arriving in barrel racing where nobody tells you when something is wrong.
This episode is brought to you by Smart Equine and ColiCare, an innovative approach to hindgut health and colic prevention. Eligible horses enrolled in the program may receive up to $15,000 in colic surgery reimbursement. Visit smartequine.com.
Krahenbuhl also covers Foxy, her heart horse she bred to Epic Leader; Blondie, Foxy’s three-quarter sister who has tested her patience and made her a better rider.