Moore Moving Up Leaderboard

By Amy Wilson

In Round 4, Memorial Night at the Wrangler NFR where two of our own were honored- Billie McBride and Nancy Hunter, the barrel racers were wearing gold and purple in memory of Hunter. Adding a unique twist to the gold theme, No. 1 ranked Tiany Schuster was wearing a gold go-round winning shirt of Martha Josey’s for her good friend, Nancy.

Amberleigh Moore and CP Dark Moon “Paige” ran down the Thomas and Mack alley 13th out in a round where many barrel horses were struggling with the ground. Moore was fully aware of what was going on inside for Round 4 while she waited her turn because, “Just the look on the girls’ faces, and we can see down the alleyway so we can see what’s going on, and we can hear the announcers and the crowd – so it’s kind of a giveaway.”

In that situation, what did it mean to Moore to be on the 8 year old mare she trusts to stand up? “It means everything because I’ve had a few places that we have slipped and we’ve had to learn to adjust together on what type of ground and how to deal with it,” Moore said.

She showcased some impressive skills to stay in the middle while two-handing Paige around the first barrel while also losing her stirrup, to ultimately win the round with a run of 13.56 seconds. “Well I came into my first barrel and I knew there had been a lot of horses having problems with the ground so I went in and sat her, and asked her to sit really hard. When she did, somehow I managed to blow my inside stirrup. So going across to two, I’m fishing for it and I can’t find it. I’m going to three, I still can’t find it and I just said, ‘Oh well, sit hard on that third. Don’t come off,’ Moore said with a laugh.

She described the ground from her perspective, “I don’t know that it’s slick as much as it’s chunky. When I’m going through the run, I’m looking at the ground where I’m going, and it’s tore up and it’s chunky and it’s not breaking up. Last year had more sand in it I think, and it was slidey. This year it’s not getting that feeling.”

Moore is now second in the WPRA Barrel Racing World Standings, has won $78,115 so far at the WNFR, and gets to collect her second go-round buckle. “And it’s my daughter’s birthday so I guess I know what she’s getting for her birthday – a new buckle,” Moore said with a big smile.

Ivy Conrado and J Lo continue to get faster each round. They recorded 13.58 seconds for a close second place finish. Conrado is now third in the average race. WPRA Rookie of the Year, Taci Bettis was third with a run of 13.59 seconds. Hailey Kinsel keeps collecting checks. Her WNFR total is $78,538 which puts her second in the Ram Top Gun Standings. Kinsel placed fourth with 13.63 in the round and leads the average with 54.08 on four. Kathy Grimes ran 15th on the ground and placed fifth in the round with 13.73 seconds. Lisa Lockhart and Louie thrilled the crowd with their sixth place run of 13.76 seconds.

Nellie Miller was one hole out of the money with 13.84, but she is second in the average.

Schuster, who ran Show Mance in Round 4, remains number one in the world standings. Stevi Hillman is now third in the world standings after costly barrels in three rounds. They, along with Kimmie Wall who is celebrating her birthday today, have not been able to cash in on the $8.8 million in competition prize money at the 2017 Wrangler NFR…yet.

Courtesy of WPRA