Willie Horzepa capped her 2025 season with a First Frontier Circuit year-end title and Finals average win, breaking through after years of consistency in the Northeast.

The Millstone Township, New Jersey, cowgirl earned $15,795.91 across 20 rodeos, then edged Karissa Landis by six-hundredths with a 59.69 to win the Circuit Finals average.

“I got blessed,” Horzepa said. “That was some luck and I guess long time coming.” 

For Horzepa, getting to the Finals has never been the hard part. Making it count is.

“Often I go to Circuit Finals and I’m just really happy to get there,” she said. “Between my barn and job schedule, I normally come in somewhere middle or bottom of the pack… so it’s just a goal to be able to partake.” 

That schedule looks different than most.

“I teach a bunch of lessons a week and probably ride eight to 10 horses a day,” she said. “We travel throughout the Northeast, go to Florida for the winter circuit… so it’s a little hard for me to get to a lot of rodeos.” 

Horzepa runs a full hunter/jumper program out of New Jersey, balancing students, travel and competition with a rodeo schedule that has to be intentional.

“My goal was to go to the ones that suit her… and make everything count since I knew I wouldn’t have the same opportunity to go to everything,” she said. 

Even then, winning one of these isn’t guaranteed.

“Even if I have my best run, it doesn’t mean I’m even going to place,” she said. “The stars have to align. These women have some tough horses.” 

That margin showed up across four runs.

“She’s the type of horse that makes you work,” Horzepa said of her mare, Panamas Diva. “If you don’t ride to the correct spot every time, she’s going to turn… You can trust her to do her job if you’re doing your job fully.” 

After fighting through the first two rounds, a small adjustment made the difference.

“I changed bits to something we had used before and got her to react a bit better,” she said. “The third round, she made a phenomenal run. The fastest time of the week.” 

From there, it came down to staying clean.

“We had to be clean, but also fast enough to stay at the top… which I just somehow managed to do by a small amount,” she said. 

The win came with a horse that doesn’t make anything easy. Panamas Diva, known as “Miss Diva,” or “Diva,” has been Horzepa’s standout for many years and helped her achieve many rodeo goals. It’s a far cry from where the 2014 daughter of Panamas Edition out of Jets Two Timing Tee x Mega Tee Moon was at when she came into Horzepa’s hands.

“She was sold as a dangerous creature because of some of her tendencies,” Horzepa said. “She’s not very friendly. She’s territorial… you have to back her through doorways, through gates. I’ve owned a lot of horses—none that are as weird as she is.” 

Learning how to manage Diva has been part of the process.

“You just have to know her ritual,” she said. 

That background across disciplines has shaped how Horzepa rides under pressure.

“I think the more well-rounded you are, you learn all sides of horses,” she said. “Both are time-oriented—speed, accuracy, detail. I think that crossover helps.” 

After eight straight Circuit Finals appearances, it finally added up.

“I’ve placed in rounds before, but I’ve never won a round or the average or the year end,” she said. “So this was my year, I guess.”

A testament to her willingness to help out fellow competitors, Horzepa also lent a horse to FFCF qualifier and longtime friend Madison Iager Toth, trusting DH Lil Uno Azure, “Fancy,” with her friend.

When Toth found out she was pregnant, she said Horzepa was an immediate call to ask if she had an available horse that would help keep her safe.

“I try to trust in the process and knowing my animals,” she said. “I know which ones will do their job and take care of their rider… I felt like she was a horse that you’d have successful runs on and be able to stay square.” 

Final 2025 WPRA First Frontier Circuit Barrel Racing Standings