Austyn Tobey and her mare Design In Red left no doubt in Louisville, Kentucky—winning nearly $11,000, two rounds, the average and year-end Great Lakes Circuit titles in a single weekend.
Aboard her mare Design In Red, the 24-year-old from Bemidji, Minnesota, came into the Great Lakes Circuit Finals about $5,000 behind the leader but stepped up when it mattered most.
“I knew my horse was capable,” she said of the 9-year-old mare. “I was just glad to be able to go there and show up, and she’s happy and healthy. It’s exciting to have that money for next year.”
$10,964 in Three Days
Tobey and Design In Red kicked off their weekend with a tie for last hole in Round 1 for $1,096, despite a slip at the third barrel.
“She laid down a beautiful first and second and then fell down going into the third,” Tobey said. “Then when she got back up, she kind of fell again. I was glad to just get around it and get back to the gate, but that’s what cost us that time. But she was laying down a run.”
After the slip, the game plan changed going into the next two rounds.
“I rode her a little different,” Tobey explained. “I rode her a little more square—she slides under with her hind feet, so I just had to keep them out to the side so she didn’t go skiing again. I knew that as long as she was firing, she was good enough to do it.”
The adjustment worked. The pair won the second round, good for $2,924, and tied for the win in the third round for $2,558.
Coming into the finals thousands behind the No. 1 spot, it was an all-or-nothing situation for Tobey, but her goal was also to set herself up for a successful 2026 season.
“My focus really was to just get the money won for this coming year,” she said. “I came into the circuit finals $5,000 behind, so I knew I would have to win a lot to make it possible. She was working so good, but I was still $1,000 behind coming into the last round, so I had to ride.”
NFR Blood
Design In Red—“Frosty”—was bred to be a winner. The 9-year-old mare is by the late NFR stallion Slick By Design and out of NFR money-earner RC Back In Black, the mare ridden by Jane Melby.
“She was bred to do it,” Tobey said of the sorrel mare. “I was just grateful for the opportunity that Cayla let me buy her as a 4-year-old. We’ve won a lot.”
Although the team has seen success, it’s come with limited runs, as injuries have kept them from going full throttle.
“We’ve battled a lot of injury—she just tries way too hard,” Tobey said. “She loves to rodeo; she loves to barrel race. It really doesn’t matter where you are, she does her job. She’s gotten really honest, and I know her really well at this point, so riding her is a breeze.”
Repeat Champion
With the big weekend in Louisville, Tobey was crowned the Great Lakes Circuit Finals year-end champion again—a feat she also accomplished in 2024.
“I won it last year, so I was just hoping to get back to the finals,” she said. “I didn’t necessarily have plans to go back to Colorado Springs, but I’m glad I get to go back.”
“I didn’t really go to too many circuit rodeos this year,” she continued. “I kept my circuit count down and made the big rodeos my priority.”
Frosty got the call at the indoor rodeos in the spring, but most of Tobey’s circuit money was won on TR Lying Badger—“Bam Bam”—the mare she rode to win the Rough Rider Cup in Mandan, North Dakota, earlier this year.
