As February barrel racing action winds down for the month of February, BRM found the stories breaking over the weekend so you don’t have to scroll Facebook for hours searching for your weekly fix of barrel racing news.
Table of contents
- No. 1: Kassie Mowry and CP He Will Be Epic dominated the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo finals.
- No. 2: Hailey Kinsel Popped off on San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo via Instagram story.
- No. 3: Jimmie Smith-Tew and A Valiant Nicky had an emotional win at Fiesta De Los Vaqueros in Tucson, Arizona.
- No. 4: The XTreme Barrel Race in Las Vegas Paid BIG Money
- No. 5: Jackie Ganter Maintains Hold on WPRA World Standings
No. 1: Kassie Mowry and CP He Will Be Epic dominated the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo finals.
Mowry fought back from the Wild Card Round on Saturday afternoon from the 11th position on the ground in the Finals that evening to top the performance and earn $15,000 for her 13.95-second run. Mowry earned a total of $22,500 throughout her efforts in the Progressive, Semifinals, Wild Card and Finals rounds at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo’s ProRodeo tournament aboard CP He Will Be Epic “Will.”
See full San Antonio Results here.
No. 2: Hailey Kinsel Popped off on San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo via Instagram story.
This weekend, Hailey Kinsel posted a series of images calling out the committee at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo for allegedly mistreating contestants and not providing safe and adequate facilities for rodeo horses.
“Sister made a great run in the Wild Card Round to split second!” Kinsel wrote. “This will most likely be her last run at San Antonio Rodeo until changes are made. If you keep treating us like it’s an amateur rodeo, I’m not scared to put my money where my mouth is and bring a colt that needs a circus experience. Until then, we’ll go to Fort Worth and Houston that act like they want the best horses in the world!”
She went on to call for changes that needed to be made in her opinion for contestants, hospitality access for family members and accomodations for rodeo horses. She added in following stories,
“I don’t feel like I complain or say honestly what I think very often, but welcome to 2023 where I say whatever I feel because people are going to criticize it even when I’m careful,” she continued. “And San Antonio Rodeo, I’m calling this out because this is one of the many things going on that is unfavorable to the contestants and I WILL defend my horse and everyone’s horses until the end of time.”
Note: BRM has reached out to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo for comment and has not received a response at this time.
No. 3: Jimmie Smith-Tew and A Valiant Nicky had an emotional win at Fiesta De Los Vaqueros in Tucson, Arizona.
Smith-Tew and “Nicky,” looked comfortable as ever at the Fiesta De Los Vaqueros WPRA/PRCA rodeo in Tucson, Arizona. Smith-Tew shared what the win meant to her in a social media post after she won the first round and placed second in the finals behind Nicole Driggers, earning the aggregate win and a total of $10,130.
“After losing my great Grandma Ruth last week, I made the trip to Tucson to see my Grandma & was able to go to the rodeo while I was here. Grandma Pat Naugle – Daniels showed up with 18 of her friends and pink pom poms to cheer us on! Nicky is absolutely incredible, winning two winter rodeos in 2023 that were total opposites, (National Western Stock Show & Rodeo) and (Fiesta De Los Vaqueros). Winning a rodeo is never taken for granted, it does not come often and it’s so special when it works out.”
Jimmie Smith-Tew
Fiesta De Los Vaqueros PRCA/WPRA Barrel Racing Results
Tucson, Arizona, February 18-26, 2023
1. Jimmie Smith-Tew, 17.10 seconds, $4,371; 2. Sabrina Ketcham, 17.24, $3,746; 3. Amberleigh Moore, 17.28, $3,122; 4. Amanda Welsh, 17.30, $2,706; 5. Loni Yates, 17.32, $2,081; 6. Lisa Lockhart, 17.33, $1,665; 7. (tie) Suzanne DePaoli and Hayle Gibson, 17.36, $1,041 each; 9. Acey Pinkston, 17.42, $624; 10. Katie Pascoe, 17.43, $416
Finals: 1. Nicole Driggers, 17.31 seconds, $1,850; 2. Jimmie Smith-Tew, 17.45, $1,388; 3. Amberleigh Moore, 17.64, $925; 4. (tie) Emily Beisel and Lisa Lockhart, 17.65, $231 each
Average: 1. Jimmie Smith-Tew, 34.55 seconds on two head, $4,371; 2. Nicole Driggers, 34.79, $3,746; 3. Amberleigh Moore, 34.92, $3,122; 4. Lisa Lockhart, 34.98, $2,706; 5. Emily Beisel, 35.09, $2,081; 6. Acey Pinkston, 35.15, $1,665; 7. Amanda Welsh, 35.23, $1,249; 8. Hayle Gibson, 35.29, $833; 9. Katie Pascoe, 35.39, $624; 10. Loni Kay Yates, 39.83, $416
No. 4: The XTreme Barrel Race in Las Vegas Paid BIG Money
Certain barrel racers who gambled the $1,250 entry fee at the XTreme Las Vegas Open got paid back in spades. The payout rang in at just under $200,000 and the event paid 99 places. Here’s the payout for the top 10 out of under 200 entries.
1 Lindsay Schulz $15,035.00
2 Casey Mathis $14,417.00
3 Haidyn Kracht $12,445.00
5 Rori Fenner $9,397.00
6 Jamie Montano $9,295.00
7 Sarah Smith $8,451.00
8 Maggie Poloncic $7,609.00
9 Jessica Walpole $5,236.00
10 Lacey Kuhlmann $4,341.00
No. 5: Jackie Ganter Maintains Hold on WPRA World Standings
WPRA world standings were updated on February 27 and Jackie Ganter is still holding down the No. 1 position with $45,768 after a solid showing in San Antonio—where she finished within the top three in the Finals—kept her momentum rolling after winning the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo just a few weeks ago. Kassie Mowry also shot up to the No. 8 position in the standings after her efforts in San Antonio.
WPRA World Standings
| 1 | Jackie Ganter | Abilene, TX | $45,768.10 | 18 |
| 2 | Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi | Lampasas, TX | $29,973.96 | 7 |
| 3 | Lisa Lockhart (G) | Oelrichs, SD | $29,842.20 | 8 |
| 4 | Sissy Winn | Chapman, TX | $28,658.33 | 12 |
| 5 | Margo Crowther | North Fort Myers, FL | $27,535.15 | 9 |
| 6 | Kassie Mowry | Dublin, TX | $27,302.27 | 6 |
| 7 | Hailey Kinsel | Cotulla, TX | $24,306.88 | 5 |
| 8 | Jordon Briggs | Tolar, TX | $23,467.22 | 4 |
| 9 | Emily Beisel | Weatherford, OK | $21,148.40 | 10 |
| 10 | Ilyssa Riley | Hico, TX | $20,279.34 | 11 |
| 11 | Bayleigh Choate | Fort Worth, TX | $19,598.49 | 7 |
| 12 | Kelly Allen | Stephenville, TX | $19,316.43 | 17 |
| 13 | Jimmie Smith-Tew | McDade, TX | $18,456.83 | 13 |
| 14 | Erin Wetzel | Plant City, FL | $18,430.91 | 21 |
| 15 | Dona Kay Rule | Minco, OK | $16,386.62 | 6 |
| 16 | Taycie Matthews | Wynne, AR | $15,127.98 | 11 |
| 17 | Tiany Schuster | Krum, TX | $14,648.58 | 16 |
| 18 | Nicole Love | Morton, MS | $14,535.03 | 8 |
| 19 | Sara Winkelman | Big Lake, MN | $13,828.52 | 16 |
| 20 | Ivy Hurst | Springer, OK | $13,325.03 | 7 |
