Hailey Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday returned to familiar territory on Friday night in Las Vegas, clocking a 13.53 to win Round 2 of the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
The win marks the team’s NFR go-round win No. 26, inching the four-time World Champion even closer to the possibility of a fifth by the end of the 10 days.
She and DM Sissy Hayday broke the NFR go-round record with 26 wins between the Thomas & Mack Arena, and the 2020 NFR in Arlington. Even as the winningest recorded barrel horse of all time, Kinsel still finds herself in awe of the career Sister has defined so far.
“It’s so cool. I mean, it’s her. I know that, and I love that,” Kinsel said. “She has allowed me to do so much in my career, including give back. That’s why I get to put on my youth race now. And to have kids at my youth race be so excited to see her — and then they get to be fans of me and they get to be fans of my other horses — I get so excited when they come out and they’re like, ‘I love Spider,’ or, ‘Reese is so cute.’ Because that means they’re following me and my whole team. But again, that team is because of Sister, and it’s so special to me that they care about her.”
From the start of NFR 2025, Kinsel knew Sister was going to be firing on all cylinders.
Kinsel said the mare’s energy told the story before she ever made a run.
“She has been just ridiculous in the back the last two nights,” Kinsel said. “She’s fresh — extremely fresh. She tried to buck me off last night. She bucked again tonight in the warmup pen. She’s very antsy in the alley and dragging me down here. She knows the route; she knows the whole routine so well, and it’s more so this year than ever — almost as if she’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this. I’ve been ready for this since a year ago Round 10.’”
The win also helped Kinsel take the lead in the 2025 World Standings race from Kassie Mowry after Mowry topped Round 1, and Sis came in second. See full results and World Standings updates here.
And while records may define careers, Kinsel made it clear that her proudest moments are shared inside the group of women who run with her every night. In Round 2, all 15 barrel racers committed to wearing the color black as a nod to Anita Ellis, who qualified for her first NFR in 2025 but was unable to compete due to injury just weeks before the event.
“One thing I won’t stop mentioning is Anita. We are so proud of her for making it. We all know how hard it is to get here, and we wish she could have run tonight. We wanted her to know in the biggest way we could — all of us wearing her favorite color, black — that we want her here.”
Barrel racers don’t have to agree on everything on Facebook, and they don’t have to agree on everything in person, but they can unite for good things. I was really proud of our group tonight. I always am. I’m proud to be part of this sport at this level.”
Stay tuned for daily recaps and more on BarrelRacing.com all week long, plus further analysis on Kinsel’s NFR strategy.
“It feels like we’re right back in the thick of it. She’s hungry. People talk about how athletes come back from setbacks with a different kind of fire, and that’s exactly how she feels — hungry to be here again. It’s so cool.”
Hailey Kinsel
Round 2 Results
| 1 | Hailey Kinsel | 13.53 | $36,667.95 |
| 2 | Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi | $13.58 | $28,979.51 |
| 3 | Katelyn Scott | $13.71 | $21,882.48 |
| 4 | Tricia Aldridge | $13.73 | $15,376.88 |
| 5 | Emily Beisel | $13.77 | $7,688.45 |
| 5 | Kassie Mowry | $13.77 | $7,688.45 |