Kennzie Nixon and Merrick Moyer both put together a handful of smoking-fast pole bending runs inside of the Lazy E Arena at the World Championship Junior Rodeo, good enough to win world titles—Nixon took the youth world title; Moyer took the junior.
Youth Division: Nixon Doubles Up
Kennzie Nixon, 15, of Pleasanton, Texas, was seeded straight onto the leaderboard, and although she could have skipped the Last Chance Qualifiers completely, she opted to run in them anyway.
That paid out in a few good runs and paychecks totaling $1,624 before the semifinals even started.
The ground inside the Lazy E Arena got wicked fast, but that put no pressure on Nixon, who was entered in both the youth and the junior divisions.
“It was fun,” Nixon said. “I ran two (19-second runs) this week. I just started running a bunch of 19’s recently. I don’t know how.”
Nixon ran a 19.924 in the semifinals and backed it up with the outright win of the finals round with a 19.752 for a two-run aggregate of 39.676—just 0.048 seconds ahead of runner-up Lavoye Garnhart—good for $3,545 and the world title.
Her time rolled over into the junior standings as well, where it was good for runner-up behind Merrick Moyer.
“I rolled over to the next age group as well, and that was awesome,” Nixon said. “I’m so glad that they let me do that, so I don’t have to run twice back-to-back.”
Those rollovers also paid in a huge way, making her total on the week, across both the youth and junior pole bending, $10,864.
Nixon only nominates a handful of big events to get on the leaderboard and get seeded straight into the semifinals.
“I nominate only big things, like (State Finals) or The Patriot,” she said.
This year, it was the Texas High School Rodeo Association state finals that punched her ticket.
Her horse, Troys Shine, who she calls “Rosie,” has carried her for three and a half years across more than just poles.
“She’s my everything, actually,” Nixon said. “I roped breakaway on her, I team rope on her, I can do everything on her.”
Junior Division: Moyer Runs the Average
Merrick Moyer, 17, of Woodward, Oklahoma, covered her bases—seeded on the leaderboard, she still ran through the Last Chance Qualifiers as well.
With the format rewarding the fastest two-run average, Moyer knew exactly what the finals called for.
“I just knew I had to be fast to win because it was on an average,” she said. “So, I just tried to go as fast as I could, and what happened happened.”
What happened was a 19.825 in the semifinals and a 19.710 in the finals, for a two-run aggregate of 39.535—0.141 seconds ahead of Nixon’s time—good for the world title and a total payout of $6,316.
Moyer rode French This Redneck, called “Paris,” around the barn, an 8-year-old mare sired by Trent Tobin’s stud, Redneck Jet, a legend in the pole bending. Tobin trained the mare and sold her to Moyer’s family about two years ago.
“It’s still really nice to go somewhere and be able to win that much in the poles,” she said.