On Thursday Dec. 14, the victory lap may have gone to Kassie Mowry during NFR Round 8, but the real drama played out when Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi officially clinched her third World Champion title in WPRA barrel racing.
“It’s surreal right now,” said Pozzi Tonozzi about her third-time feat. “I never thought a third was going to be in the cards for me. This is another dream come true.”
Pozzi Tonozzi plowed through nearly every record in her path during 2023. Spare the nearly $1 million she picked up at the Pink Buckle this fall and all her futurity wins, she’s won $427,657.03 on her WPRA season—a new earnings record on the year with two rounds and the aggregate payout left to factor in.
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It’s looking good for the 2023 World Champion Barrel Racer to clinch her third aggregate title, and Pozzi Tonozzi is within reach of Jordon Briggs’ 2021 NFR aggregate record. She’s currently sitting on eight runs with a time of 108.98, nearly a full second ahead of Kassie Mowry’s 109.55 on eight.
“We are just going to keep our heads down and try to stay in the average and win as much money as possible,” stated Pozzi Tonozzi about her game plan for the final two rounds of the 2023 season.
WPRA Note: Hailey Kinsel was the last WPRA member to have as dominate of an NFR as Pozzi Tonozzi could be on track for. Kinsel became the first barrel racer to win the world championship, NFR aggregate, RAM Top Gun and fast time of the NFR all in the same year in 2020.
But wait, there’s more.
In the RAM Top Gun race, Pozzi Tonozzi is seated firmly at No. 2, trailing bull rider Ky John Hamilton’s $160,312.82 with $157,093.61 in the barrel racing, while tie-down roper Haven Meged sits No. 3 with $132,49544.
Just days ago, Pozzi Tonozzi became the fourth barrel racer in WPRA history to break $1 million in earnings solely at the NFR.
If she keeps up her winning ways, Pozzi Tonozzi will also become the winningest WPRA barrel racer of all time. Pre-NFR 2023, 19-time NFR qualifier Sherry Cervi held the record with $3,388,790. Lisa Lockhart is just $4,446 from topping the record but, depending on how the rest of the NFR drama plays out, Tonozzi is well within reach of topping both Lockhart and Cervi. She’s currently at $3,279,319 in lifetime WPRA earnings.
If Pozzi Tonozzi doesn’t win another check in the go-rounds and holds her No. 1 position in the aggregate, she will end the season with $506,404.10.
Special thanks to the WPRA for providing timely and accurate barrel racing information on NFR happenings, and stay tuned for more coverage of Pozzi Tonozzi’s season and the remainder of the 2023 National Finals Rodeo, brought to you by Equinety.
