Emma Kate Parr unofficially crossed the $62,000 yearly earnings mark after winning more than $15,000 in just 10 days.
If ever there was a time to get on a roll on the ProRodeo trail, late August—just one month from the official season close on Sept. 30—is a clutch time. The 19-year-old Greensboro, Alabama, native will unofficially sit No. 1 in the rookie race with $62,862.13 after a big 10 days of rodeo.
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The weekend of Aug. 14-17 witnessed Parr go 3-for-3 in Montana, winning Baker, Billings and Kalispell; the weekend of Aug. 22-24, she was third at Kennewick, Washington, placed at Bremerton, Washington, and snagged a check in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho. She collected $15,987 across 10 days.
The 2025 Resistol Rookie Roundup Shootout champion relied on Pipe Down Compromise, aka “Piper,” throughout the run.
10-Day Breakdown
Starting off her hot streak in Baker, Parr made a 15.77-second run to pocket $3,974.
“I decided to jump on Piper for the next few rodeos [after Caldwell, Idaho],” she said. “We actually unloaded an hour before the rodeo started there in Baker, we had a long drive. He was bucking in his little turnout, so I was excited; it’s always good when he’s feeling good. I was super happy with how Baker went. I knew there was another [performance] and I was number one, so there was still a lot of girls to run. I just try not to get my hopes up, but I was super happy with him.”
The following night, Parr and Piper ran a 17.27-second run to win $2,920 in Billings.
“[Piper] once again was feeling great, he has been feeling great all week…I didn’t think it was the most perfect run, but obviously he was really firing.”
Next up, a 17.12-second run in Kalispell, was worth $2,819
“I was in that last performance there,” Parr said. “I didn’t look at the arena, but the pattern was a little bit offset from the alley, so that was different. The third was in the middle of the pen, so I really had to bump him back there.”
From there, Parr and her team headed to the Northwest where she capitalized on the roll her and Piper started in Montana.
The Thursday night performance in Bremerton saw Parr first on the ground to make a 17.24-second run and bring home $1,047; in Kennewick, her and Piper placed in the first round with a 17.29-second run to win $585 and ran a 17.23-second run in the finals to win $1,039, placing the team third in the average with a 34.52 on two head and paying out $2,923 for their efforts; finally, at the Sunday matinee in Coeur D’ Alene, Parr was top 10 with a 17.72-second run to pocket $680.
Piper and Pierre
Parr has trusted two geldings to help her climb the rookie standings.
“Piper” — Pipe Down Compromise — is a 12-year-old sorrel gelding by No Compromises and out of Wildfire Revenge, by Second Down Kelly. Piper was owned by Chuck and Linda Gail-Stewart prior to Parr, who both had major influence on her career.
“[Chuck and Linda Gail] helped me for probably six years,” she reflected. The last few years, I came out to Texas, so I am a little farther away from Chuck; Mrs. Linda Gail passed of cancer. But if I really need something, if I really can’t figure it out, [Chuck] is always a phone call away.”
“I got [Piper] when he was about seven,” Parr explained. “Linda Gail owned and had trained and finished him. She was very nice and let me jump on him for a weekend. When she wasn’t doing too good (keep that in). We had a great weekend.
Gail-Stewart was a cherished member of the Southeastern barrel racing community, who lost her battle with cancer in 2020. A memorial barrel race is held annually in her honor in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
“I would say Piper has been the greatest horse I’ve ever had; he has really taught me how to win.”
The rookie cowgirl also has DG Excuse My French — “Pierre” — in the rig as well. Pierre is a 2014-model gray gelding by BHR Frenchies Socks and out of Eyes Moonshine, by Mr Eye Opener.
“I’ve had [Pierre] for a little over two years now,” she said. “We got him from Cassidy Champlin. [At first], I just used him for bigger barrel races, obviously I wasn’t rodeoing. We’ve struggled for sure, but he has been the horse that has opened the biggest doors for me.”
The geldings serve very different needs in Parr’s rig. Piper is push-style and confident in the outdoor arenas, as he proved in Montana. Pierre’s aggressive style helps him shine on smaller, more enclosed setups, like Cowtown Coliseum, home of the Resistol Rookie Roundup.
“With Pierre, he really likes indoors; I know he’s that step faster than Piper is. He’s more of a strong-type horse, where Piper is more of a push style. When Pierre is indoors, I can really push him where as outdoors, he will get a little carried away.”
Learning curve
Parr’s experience at the 2025 Resistol Rookie Roundup was a special one, one that she skipped out on the California run for, but it set her up for a summer that has been full of adversity.
For a Southeastern native, where many arenas are smaller, indoor setups, learning to be competitive in the wide-open western setups has been an adjustment. Regardless of the uncertainty, Parr is staying the course as she heads to the Northwest. After the wins she had in Montana, she’s fired up to finish the season.
“A lot of people say they don’t look at the standings,” Parr said. “Well, I look at the standings. I feel like that lit a little fire in me. I’ve always said this: ‘One weekend can change everything for everyone.’ I said that back when I was in the lead after the Rookie Roundup back in April. Obviously, one weekend did change it for me, and I’m hoping with this win in Montana, I can just stay on my way up because I’ve really been in a slump this summer. Me and my horses haven’t really gotten on fire, but I’m hoping Montana was the start of it.”