Kara Kreder captured the Prairie Circuit Finals average title after going first and second in the long rounds, good for a time of 32.28 seconds on two head and a $4,301 payday.
“I was excited and very surprised,” the Arkansas-turned-Texas lady said of the win. “I never really just made it a goal until this year. I said, ‘I am going to make the circuit finals this year,’ and that was my goal.”
Kreder set the tone early in Round 1 with a winning 16.20-second run aboard her 6-year-old gelding Batson, registered as Buh Bye Baby, to earn $2,867. Knowing he was still young, Kreder came into the first round reserved—but Batson had other ideas.
“I wanted to be a little more conservative,” Kreder said. “He’s pretty green still, even though he’s been a standout so far. I always say, ‘Oh my gosh, he shouldn’t be doing this,’ but he went in there and did his thing. He handled the ground, he listened to me and was just a rock star. He definitely surprised me.”
The ground was a talking point in Pawhuska, as the circuit finals venue was finalized just weeks before the event after the original location was canceled due to EHV.
“By the second round, they had it figured out,” she said. “They did an excellent job trying to get the ground prepared, and he handled it really well.”
Kreder followed her Round 1 win with a second-place finish in Round 2, stopping the clock in 16.08 seconds to earn $2,150.
“In the back of your mind, you’re like, ‘Okay, I’m sitting in a position to win the average,’” Kreder said. “I really sent him in there, but once again he went exactly where he was supposed to. He let me ask him for an extra step behind the second barrel, and his third barrel is usually his best. I’m blessed with him—he’s very honest.”
Batson, by The Goodbye Lane out of a Coronas Prospect mare with Dash Ta Fame ties on the bottom side, entered Kreder’s program in the fall of 2023.
“He is probably the kindest horse I have ever owned,” Kreder said. “He just loves his job. He’s a ‘yes ma’am’ all day long—whatever you want to do. He’s a pretty neat horse.”
Originally from Springdale, Arkansas, Kreder didn’t grow up in a rodeo family but found her passion early through local play days. That passion took her through college rodeo and eventually onto the ProRodeo road, where she learned the ins and outs of professional rodeo alongside her husband.
“I really got to learn how to rodeo, how to take care of my horses and pick runs,” she said. “That taught me a lot.”
After designating the Prairie Circuit in previous years without a specific goal, Kreder made a conscious decision to focus on circuit competition in 2025. Living near the Oklahoma-Texas line made the Prairie Circuit a natural fit, and she embraced it.
“I love the Prairie Circuit,” she said. “Those girls are such a great group.”