Lockhart and Conrado Find Way to Winner’s Circle in Round 5

By Amy Wilson

Round 5 at the Wrangler NFR was emotional for two barrel racers – the first go-round win for a 2-time WNFR qualifier and another round win for a veteran who has 11 consecutive WNFR qualifications. Ivy Conrado and KN Fabs Gift of Fame “J Lo” and Lisa Lockhart and An Oakie With Cash “Louie” tied with times of 13.59 seconds, and they both were savoring every moment of the memorable win on their special horses.

“Just getting to see Ivy and the minute we got on the grand entry horses[for the victory lap]…she’s going to make me cry…that awe struck look on her face – it’s priceless,” Lockhart said as she and Ivy exchanged looks of joy with tears in their eyes. “ It’s so cool!”

Conrado responded, “I don’t even know what to say – I’m so excited. And I never dreamed I’d be back here with Lisa Lockhart.”

There’s no doubt that the nearly 17,000 fans inside Thomas and Mack love when Lisa and Louie’s signature song starts playing and they run in. “I swear he knows his song, and I love his song. Tonight I just remember it starting and away we went…and the rest is history,” Lockhart said. She was first out, and elaborated on her 14 year old buckskin gelding, “I definitely wanted to try to capitalize being on top of the ground. Louie has gotten stronger throughout the week and that’s kind of what he’s done in the past. I was trying not to panic early in the week being so long. I just stuck with it and had faith that he was going to get stronger, and he finally has.” She continued, “I have to commend him that yes, he does stand up on anything and he is so consistent. As Ivy may well tell you, consistency is such a peace of mind and knowing they are going to go out there and do their job, is just so amazing.”

Conrado agreed and had lots of positive things to say about the 8 year old palomino mare she is running, “J Lo is so consistent and honest. I put her in spots where she should just annihilate a barrel and she never does. She’s just really forgiving.” The 23 year old Colorado cowgirl described what she likes most about J Lo, “I like her headset a lot – she keeps her head in a good spot where she can put pressure on your hand throughout the turn but at the same time she’s not coming up on the backside, and I think that’s when you can get horses’ feet really fast. I like that feel a lot. She’s stiff and square, and I like that too. At the same time, if you get horses stiff, they want to lean, but she won’t lean. She does anything you ask her to do…and at a run is my favorite thing.”

Conrado is a great horsewoman who also has two other awesome mares, including Fames To Blame “Famey” and the 2016 AQHA/WPRA Horse of the Year, CFour Tibbie Stinson “Tibbie”. For those wondering how she made the decision to run J Lo, here is her answer: “I didn’t have very much luck on Tibbie here last year. Tibbie is the kind of horse that if she likes it, she loves it and you can’t beat her in it. But if she doesn’t, it’s just the way that it is. The other mare I have is still young – she’s only six and she’s never been to anything like this.”

The decisions Conrado and Lockhart are making have put them in great positions in average. Conrado is second in the average with 68.55 and has moved up to seventh in the WPRA World Standings. Lockhart is fourth in the average with 68.96 and also fourth in the world standings.

Tiany Schuster is number one in the world standings and sixth in the average. She is one of seven barrel racers who are clean on all five runs. Amberleigh Moore is second in the world standings, but a tipped barrel in Round 5 leaves her 11th in the average. Hailey Kinsel has placed in the top 4 in every round and is the only barrel racer to have placed in every round so far. She is number one in the average and third in the world standings. With $92,192 in WNFR earnings, Kinsel is currently number one in the Ram Top Gun Award Standings.

Courtesy of WPRA