On her fourth trip to the Pendleton Round-Up, the WPRA’s highest money-earning barrel racer of all tine, Lisa Lockhart jockeyed Prime Diamond around the Pendleton Round-Up’s iconic green mile to earn a combined $12,717 across two rounds and the aggregate.

“Sherry Cervi said ‘That’s a great one to conquer,’ and I think that’s great verbiage to describe it,” Lockhart said. “It’s wild and crazy. And there’s a lot of adversity involved in it.”  

Lockhart set the pace early in slack with a 28.57 and held onto her lead throughout the entirety of the firsr full round, earning the $5,891 win. In the finals, she finished tied at fourth with LaTricia Duke in 28.72 seconds, earning $935. Her combined time of 57.29 seconds on two runs earned the $5,891 aggregate win ahead of bubble cowgirl Sara Winkelman and VF Alive N Streaking, who earned reserve honors with a 57.47. Her 2024 showing represented Lockhart’s fourth career appearance at the massive setup. In her first three showings, she’s earned a long round, short round and aggregate reserve championship, but the pieces fell into place in the 2024 installment to earn her first title.

“I may have never started entering Pendleton if I didn’t have to back in 2021,” Lockhart said. “Now, maybe I’m not entirely right in the head since I waited until my later years to try that one out, but that’s how we did it. There’s a lot of variables at Pendleton, it’s wild and crazy. But a lot of making it work there is having the right horse. You have to be able to control them, they have to look for barrels, but they can’t be the type that rates too early and gets in trouble on the grass. Not many horses have the speed and that balance to excel there.”

Prime Diamond, “Cutter,” was Lockhart’s weapon of choice across appearances. The now 13-year-old gelding by Prime Talent and out of Hugos Diamond by Hugo Streakin has been with Lockhart since his 2-year-old year, and the versatile horse has quietly won his way to over $227K inQData’s recorded lifetime earnings prior to Pendleton.

“He’s pretty adaptable to whatever I throw him into,” Lockhart said. “I’ve had him a long time, and he’s traveled with Louie and Rosa and gone pretty much everywhere. He’s just one of those that’s capable of it all—from winning a round at the NFR, to winning the circuit finals to Pendleton. He’s handled every situation. He’s the fastest horse I own, but he’s very maneuverable.”

Many athletes pour time and energy into making sure their horses are dialed in, prepared, fit and ready for Pendleton, but Lockhart’s preparation is worked into her program, which aids in Cutter’s ability to standout.

“I feel like my horses are always fit and ready for whatever I send their way,” Lockhart said. “So I honestly don’t do anything different to prepare them…Cutter’s been there before, and we ranch on them, they’re turned out on grass. Really, it’s your game plan thats different. Knowing you’ve got to hold them together and get your horse all the way across the pen, it’s that sort of thing. As far as my horses themselves go, they’re just on call and ready.”

On the day of competition, there’s few variables any type of practice can prepare equine athletes for a daylight run at Pendleton.

“Horses will make moves they don’t normally make when they’re running across to the second barrel there,” Lockhart said. “That’s whether you go to the left or right. You can feel them anticipating, but in reality, you can’t see the second barrel and neither can they when you turn the first. You just have a vague idea of where it’s at, but it’s truly so hard to see across that pen and navigate your horse there. You’ve just got to be ready for anything your horse throws at you, because they will do things that are out of character when it’s that big and odd. For example, Cutter was as honest as usual on his first run, but I felt him anticipate on his second run. I was able to hold him straight as long as I needed to and stay moving.”

After conquering the second turn, the remaining amount of time in the horse race to the third and home is another mind game in and of itself.

“I know I wasn’t that close to the third barrel (on the second run,)” Lockhart said. “But at that point, you’re thinking ‘Just clear the barrel and leave it standing!’ I didn’t care, go a stride past, just get us around it.”

Lockhart’s string of horsepower in 2024 is stacked. Cutter has stayed on the sidelines for most of the year, allowing Rosas Cantina CC “Rosa,” Promise Me Fame Guys, “Levee,” and her newest addition to the lineup, Busby Quarter Horses’ Blazin Ta Betty, a full sister to Jordon Briggs’ Famous Lil Jet, “Rollo.” She’s also hauling along My Guy Second Chance, her 6-year-old who’s learning the rodeo ropes.

Since her first NFR appearance in 2007, Lockhart’s mastered the balance of training and seasoning young barrel horses while making a living on her faithful, older mounts.

“There’s definitely nothing like getting on that horse that feels like an old pair of jeans,” Lockhart said. “But schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of time to go to other races outside of rodeos, so they’ve got to get exposure…It’s just taking it one day at a time—diving in and making transitions on the fly. That’s the thing about the rodeo world, you just throw them straight into the fire. Sometimes it takes a little longer.”

The volatility of the ProRodeo trail is something that Lockhart has managed to stay ahead of for nearly two decades of barrel racing dominance. In 2024, she’s all but locked in for NFR trip No. 18 with over $135,000 after entering the Pendleton week in the No. 6 World Standings position with $123,420.24 earned on 53 rodeos. Whether it’s training her next superstar or keeping up with the ever-changing rodeos, Playoff Series events, limited rodeo qualifications and other big added-money events, Lockhart’s continuing to prove her place among the greatest of all time in barrel racing. Stay tuned for more coverage as the end of the ProRodeo season approaches from the World Standings, circuit, Horse of the Year and Resistol Rookie races thanks to Equinety.

Pendleton Round-Up barrel racing results 2024

First round: 1. Lisa Lockhart, 28.57 seconds, $5,891; 2. Italy Sheehan, 28.71, $5,049; 3. Sara Winkelman, 28.84, $4,208; 4. Shelly Mull, 28.86, $3,647; 5. Jamie Olsen, 29.00, $2,805; 6. (tie) Megan McLeod-Sprague and Tayla Moeykens, 29.08, $1,964 each; 8. LaTricia Duke, 29.09, $1,122; 9. Colleen Kingsbury, 29.23, $842; 10. Leslie Smalygo, 29.25, $561. 

Finals: 1. Sara Winkelman, 28.63 seconds, $2,493; 2. Tayla Moeykens, 28.64, $1,870; 3. (tie) LaTricia Duke and Lisa Lockhart, 28.72, $935 each. 

Average: 1. Lisa Lockhart, 57.29 seconds on two head, $5,891; 2. Sara Winkelman, 57.47, $5,049; 3. Tayla Moeykens, 57.72, $4,208; 4. LaTricia Duke, 57.81, $3,647; 5. Jamie Olsen, 58.15, $2,805; 6. Nikki Albisu, 58.20, $2,244; 7. Megan McLeod-Sprague, 58.24, $1,683; 8. Lindsey Ham, 58.90, $1,122; 9. Leslie Smalygo, 60.15, $842; 10. Shelly Mull, 62.46, $561.