The first NFR barrel racing practice is in the books, and all 15 barrel racers have had the opportunity to check out the infamous Thomas & Mack pattern setup.
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Kassie Mowry
Starting things off on CP He Will Be Epic, Mowry worked a drill we’ve seen both her and Danyelle Campbell utilize extensively inside the Thomas & Mack, where she approaches the first barrel in the normal position, then goes lightly past the turn point and overexaggerates leaving the turn, approaching the timer line instead of the second barrel first. She did this on both the first and second turns. On his second pass, Mowry smiled as Will pranced into the arena, then settled him down and walks him through, passing through the timer line as she worked wide on the first again. She then stopped him going to the second barrel, then walked around the turn with tight circles. He got excited going to the third, and she settles him down and started turning small circles again, tucking his hip tight into the barrel while he nearly spun on his hind end around it calmly. For an animal pushing 17 hands, Will looked as athletic and confident in his footwork as any of the smaller horses working in the same spots.
Next up, Mowry came in on what our editorial team believes to be Heavens Got Credit, owned by Mindy Holloway. He’s a right-handed sorrel who carries the Jud Little brand. Mowry talked to the excitable horse throughout his trot through, working on settling him. Next, she breezed a solid run through, feeling out every step and letting the horse find his spots. They had it figured out well by the third barrel and it looked sharp.
Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi
Tonozi started things out on Sir Epic, and after a bit of slow work, she coasted him around the barrels and let him figure out the dark alleyway coming out of the arena, where he nearly hesitated at first. On their third pass, he loped around the first and barely drug it over with his hip leaving it, and tonozzi backed him off, slowly working large circles around the second.
After getting Sir Epic comfortable, Tonozzi climbed aboard JL Roc Lost A Soc, “Mo,” and took him to the left barrel first. After slow working, she cruises him through on her second go. He hit all of his points well, and in the quiet building, you could hear Tonozzi firmly say “Whoa,” as she approached each turn at her rate point.
Next, Tonozzi got back on Sir Epic and trotted him around, keeping her hands on her split reins close to her chest and quiet in slow work, keeping him elevated and round at each barrel.
Emily Beisel
Emily Beisel is always one of the most anticapated athletes to watch at practice, as her slow working routines can be unconventional. She kept things more standard in her 2025 practice, starting things out on Liza in her warm-up bit, a Myler, and split reins. The mare looked fluid through two passes at a walk, and Beisel talked to her around the turns quietly.
Beisel gets on Teasin Dat Guy, “Chewy,” next, walking through twice. The mare, usually intense in competition, looked as calm and loose as Liza did. At the very end of practice, Beisel took her in one more time at a lope and then stepped off in the arena, loosened her saddle and pulled the mare’s boots off.
Chongo was the third horse Beisel rode during practice, and she walks him all the way to the line between the first and second barrel on the same plane as the third barrel. She then took a hard L over to the first barrel and gave him a huge circle. The snorty horse looked as young as ever, despite being well into his teens. Beisel changed things up at her second barrel, working it tight to the left, then going to the right, away from the barrel and making a turn. She walked him to the third and halfway around it, then reversed him back to his original first turn point and walked around the barrel in normal position.
Hailey Kinsel
Sister was Hailey’s first horse of barrel practice, and they looked as though they were putting on a visualization clinic. Hailey sat just as she would in a competition run, dropping to her horn at the right spot, and moving her hands and legs just as she looks going full speed, but at a walk. Sister wasn’t spooky or excitable, as she sometimes can be at the start of the first practice. She dropped her head and relaxed as she walked in between the turns. She walked through several times on Sis, taking her all the way to the fence at the barrels and walking large circles around all three.
Kinsel stepped on BCK SpyderMonkey, “Spyder,” next for a trot through. Kinsel leaned back slightly in her saddle while she talked to the mare, staying relaxed as the spicy horse attempted to surge slightly in several spots.
After practice, Kinsel’s mother, Leslie came in aboard “Reese,” and ponied Sister saddleless while Kinsel
Megan Mcleod-Sprague
Well, now we know why they call “Jag,” the dragon. The gelding is all gas, but Megan keeps him controlled while allowing him to portray the excitement. She pet him on the butt and on the neck while slow working absolutely flawlessly, staying quiet with her seat and hands. She allowed him to lope around his first on his second pass through, and he planted his hind leg aggressively and wrapped it. They should be an exciting duo to watch in Round 1.
After, Mcleod-Sprague rode “Vice,” her gelding, and slow worked her by taking her to the right of the right-handed second barrel, and turned a mock barrel roughly 10-12 feet from the real barrel. She then took him over to the backside of the second barrel and around it like a normal, slow trotting turn.
On the next pass, the aggressive mare barely drug over all three barrels as Megan allowed her and the production team cheered. Mcleod-Sprague took it all in good spirit, possibly a sign of her confidence in the mare when speed is applied.
Lisa Lockhart
Lisa stayed on Blazin Ta Betty, “Sasha,” for the entire practice. The mare looked incredibly fluid on all appearances inside the arena. Lockhart chose to give extra space on the second and third as she walked circles.
Sasha appeared more excited as the practice went on, but Lockhart never moved in the saddle, throttling the horse down every time she tried to pick up speed above a slow trot.
She then loped around the first, then backed down in speed. Sasha picked up intensity, and Lockhart detoured between the second and third turns and loped a circle off to the left of the third barrel on the right-handed mare before taking her back to the third barrel. On her final pass, she exaggerated a square around her first barrel.
Carlee Otero
Otero started out on Kathys Candy, “Twix,” as the first breeze through of the day, and the mare looked tight in the tiny arena. She drags over a barrel on her second light pass through.
Next up, Otero got on AM Regina George, who was predicted to be her first round pick. The mare perked her tiny ears up and looks around, but appeared relaxed. She just walks through.
Otero surprised a lot of fans by her next horse in line. Blingolena, “Sly,” her 2024 NFR horse, lopes through a pattern just like he never left. He was out for the majority of the 2025 regular season and got back into competition just weeks before the NFR, but looked like he was more ready to get back in the winner’s circle.
Halyn Lide
With Keeper being out with an EHV-1 diagnosis, Lide started on left-running Halos Frosted Fame, whom she has never competed on before. She and stayed on the mare for most of practice. Lide and the mare worked together on their timing and foot placement, with Lide taking extra time to work the horse through its spots.
She made one pass through on Kappie Bryant’s Smooth As Rico Suave, “Pancakes,”, and as a duo, they both looked super smooth.
Tayla Moeykens
Moeykens, an NFR first-timer, was also on an unusual mount. DDD StreaknFirewater “Penny” – owned by Cindy Grainger looked loose, which should compliment Moeykens’ ability to ride free horses. Moeykens looks pretty comfortable inside the Thomas & Mack, but she works through multiple passes, helping Penny find her spots and keep collected.
Tricia Aldridge
Are we sure Adios Pantalones hasn’t ran inside the Thomas & Mack before, maybe in a past life? The 5-year-old stallion looked as confident and relaxed as any of the teenage horses in the field with multiple trips under their belt. Aldridge works big, round circles around her barrels, keeping the horse powering through with his hind end, even dropping to one hand on a couple of the barrels. They alternated between a lope through, trot through and walk through during the practice.
Hayle Gibson Stillwell
Buncha Dinero, “Piper,” was the second left-handed horse to enter at the start of practice, and looked fired up. Gibson-Stillwell kept her relaxed, trotting a few extra circles and going to the wall on the second barrel. Next, Piper loped through, crowding the backside of the second barrel slightly but otherwise hitting all of her points. Stillwell patted the mare’s neck – Piper is pumped, she’s our second lefty in the pack, trots extra circles on the second, goes to the fence on two, gives her some time to settle.
– Piper lopes through, a little tight on the second on the backside but otherwise solid. Hayle pets her out of the arena enthusiastically, she looks like she’s got some confidence now.
Wenda Johnson
No surprise, Johnson started out on Steal Money, “Mo, “ and remained on him for the majority of practice. She chose a more narrow approach to the first barrel than some of the others, coming more up the right side of the alleyway on him. He looked snappy as ever, his stiffer style efficient around the barrels. She talked to him the entire time quietly, trotting through a few times. She then cruised through, coming into the pen with barely three fingers touching her reins and lightly asking for the turn. She smooched him through a few sticky spots, then got on “Diego,” and walked around the barrels after Mo finished.
Andrea Busby
Andrea stayed aboard HanksInTheFastLane, “Goodbye,” throughout the practice. She over emphasized the backside of the turns in the first walk through, giving the buckskin extra steps to get his hip fully past the barrels before initiating the turn. She loped him through on her third pass, and he takes it nice and easy through the pattern. She then slows down on her next pass and gives Goodbye more room in her approach, staying in the center lined up with the third barrel a few extra steps compared to her lope through. She then figure eights off the third barrel, working Goodbye on the left-hand side of the barrel in a right circle before coming back into the left turn.
Katelyn Scott
Katelyn Scott and Peanut Seed may be NFR rookies, but they looked right at home in the Thomas & Mack. She worked him with extra space, keeping it slow.
Scott then jumped aboard “Babycakes”Twizzler,” and breezed through, looking smooth. She got back on Peanut Seed and worked him slowly again. He relaxed and appeared confident in all areas.
Julie Plourde
Hailing from Quebec and cutting her teeth at track pens and coliseums on the East Coast, Plourde should know exactly how to excel on “Rocky,” in the Thomas & Mack. She pet his neck or rubbed him between the ears through most of her passes through, showing lots of love to the gelding. She took one half-speed pass through just before the drag halfway through the hour-and-a-half long practice session, and he stumbled slightly, but recovered well.