Clean Sweep in Pool B for Kinsel

By Jolee Jordan

Calgary, Alberta — Fast. There is no other word to describe the action in the WPRA barrel race during Pool B at the 2019 Calgary Stampede.

The Stampede began on July 5, 2019 with 20 total competitors in each event vying to walk through the tournament style rodeo and emerge as the Champion on July 14. Half the field was done on Monday, July 8 as the competitors are placed into one of two pools for preliminary action. Each pool gets four full rounds of sudden death competition to try to earn as much round money as possible. The four high money winners advance automatically to Showdown Sunday on July 14 while the remaining six get a second chance with Wild Card Saturday. On Saturday, the 12 contestants get one more run with the two fastest also punching a ticket to Showdown Sunday.

At the end of the Calgary rainbow is the chance to earn $100,000 as the Champion in the final round.

As the WPRA barrel racers wowed inside the arena, it was perhaps fitting that during the week, WPRA legend and 11-time World Champion Charmayne James was honored with induction into Calgary’s Pioneers of the Rodeo.

Begun in 1974, the Pioneers of the Rodeo is Calgary’s own Hall of Fame, recognizing a small, select group each year from both the rodeo and chuckwagon racing. Candidates are chosen based upon outstanding performances during the Stampede or for their impact on the sport and the event itself. They may be contestants, volunteers, staff, or other visionaries of the sport.

A two-time champion in Calgary (1992 & 2003), James is one of just six barrel racers to be inducted and only the second American barrel racer, joining Marlene McRae who was inducted in 2018. As preference is given to Canadians, the ladies are two of only four Americans to be included in the Pioneers; the others are Jim Shoulders and Dean Oliver.

Other inductees in 2019 were Doug Nelson, who ran a chuckwagon outfit for many years, has written books and created a board game to honor the sport’s history and whose father is also a Pioneer, and 1994 PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler Blaine Pederson, a five-time Wrangler NFR competitor who won four Canadian titles and the Stampede twice.

“Thank you to the Calgary Stampede for the acknowledgment as one of the Pioneers of the Rode,” James posted to social media. Though unable to attend the ceremony, she thanked friend Ginger Besplug for accepting on her behalf; James won the 2003 Showdown on Besplug’s daughter Jill’s horse Chic.

Interestingly, Besplug is the last cowgirl to win back-to-back titles here in Calgary—she claimed the championship in 2001-2002 while James used her horse to win the title in 2003, giving Chic the three-peat.

With that history in mind, the reigning Calgary champion Hailey Kinsel kicked off her title defense in 2019 during Pool B. Could she become the first repeat winner in nearly two decades?

Day Five

Just 24 hours after Ivy Conrado came close—just two one-hundredths—to the arena record, the reigning Calgary champion Hailey Kinsel tied it. Running her amazing mare Sister, Kinsel stopped the clock at 16.99 seconds to tie the mark set two years ago by Tiany Schuster on her gelding Show Mance.

“Pretty awesome, Tiany Schuster is going to kick me in the butt for it but that’s ok, it’ll buff out,” she joked with Ted Stovin of the Wrangler Network after the run.

“It was pretty cool,” Kinsel continued. “There’s an awesome group of horses that ran today so we knew the ground was great. Good job, Kynan [Vine, GM of the Stampede], they did a really good job on the ground; it’s not only safe but it’s also fast. So that was awesome for us to be able to post those kind of times.”

Kinsel was facing a tough race as she ran from the seventh position on the ground. Amber Moore and Paige had led off with a 17.27 second run that was bested on the next run by newlywed Callahan Crossley Tryan who ran a 17.21.

Texas cowgirl Shelby Spielman took the lead three runners later at 17.18 seconds before relinquishing the lead to the champion.

“Everybody wants their first day here in their pool to just be good, whether it’s a money run or not, just make a good run,” Kinsel admitted. “I think that’s a good run for me!”

“Those of us who got in here, we all had similar ideas about maybe just kind of resting just come to Calgary so a lot of us didn’t go to as many rodeos and I’m one of those,” she continued, noting she ran at just four rodeos over the Fourth of July in the week leading to the Stampede. “We were just waiting to come here because it’s the best one.”

“It definitely is [a game changer] even just in the go round money regardless of who wins overall, you get great checks just for making one run and that means a lot to us that we can win so much for asking our horses to make a run,” Kinsel said. “Business wise we definitely need to be making money and being as efficient as we can so it helps to be able to come to a rodeo like this, hang out for a few days, the hospitality is great, they take care of us and not only get to run on good, safe ground but win money for it.”

Running ninth on the ground, Jennifer Sharp slid into second with her run of 17.14 seconds competing in her very first Stampede.

Day Six

Day Six of the Stampede was simply incredible.

Sharp stayed hot. Running behind top Fourth of July money winner Emily Miller’s 17.33, Sharp and her tough lefty Smooch broke the arena record, blasting through the course in 16.96 seconds.

Unfortunately for Sharp, her name did not make it to the record books as Kinsel ran just two cowgirls later, breaking the new mark with an equally impressive run of 16.93 seconds.

The two palomino mares are dominating the competition in this pool thus far, running first and second both days in record fashion.

The record breaking day led former record holder Tiany Schuster to quip on Facebook, “I officially went and got me a yellow horse to start riding. Jussss sayin’!”

“I was OK with the first one but my horse wasn’t so it was a good thing,” Kinsel laughed in her post run interview. “I tried to do things about the same; she was real quiet in the back so I really thought she was going to be a tick slower than yesterday maybe.”

“The ground was heavier but she stayed really honest, stayed right in the hole and turned really tight and I think that helps. Some of the horses that maybe had some looser turns got down into those ruts a little bit more but she didn’t, so thankfully that was good. I think Jenny’s horse does the same thing, has a one point turn right by the barrel so we were both able to be fast on it.”

Kinsel acknowledged the terrific run by her fellow Texas barrel racer Sharp to lead the day.

“I feel bad,” she admitted. “I wish, just one day she would have been better, if she could have had the moment but I can’t complain, that’s for sure. She had an outstanding run, that shouldn’t be taken away from her. I hope everybody remembers that there were two records today.”

After finishing one out of the dough on the opening day, Miller stayed in the money this time around, winning third. Moore and Paige were solid again at 17.41 to win fourth while Lisa Lockhart and the immortal Louie captured their first 2019 Calgary check for fifth with a run of 17.43 seconds.

“With the field of horses it could get very fast,” Kinsel noted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets broken five more times. It’s just that good, the ground is that good. Thankfully the weather has been good thus far. They do such a good job just keeping it safe for us and letting it be fast as well.”

Day Seven

The third round of Pool B began with 2018 WPRA Tour Champion Kaylee Gallino and her great horse Bob. The duo set the pace with a 17.51, a mark that was bested a few racers later by Emily Miller. Miller pulled out some gymnastics in the saddle as she reached down and reset the first barrel as her great horse Chongo turned it to take the lead at 17.41 seconds.

Kinsel competed in the second half of the draw, following the tractor drag. As arena announcer Wayne Brooks told the crowd of 20,000-plus that Kinsel’s mare Sister loved big crowds, the WPRA World Championship pair laid down another run virtually in the same tracks as the previous two days. Though slightly slower than the arena record time, the 17.04 shot to the lead by nearly four tenths of a second.

“It would be really neat,” Kinsel said of the chance to win every round, something that has only been done previously by Sydni Blanchard. “Mary Burger was probably the most recent to do it in 2016 and she put on a clinic the whole time.” Burger won every round except the Semi-Finals but still maxed her earnings as the top four in the Semi-Finals are not paid.

”Yeah, it would be cool but I mean, we’ve got one day left and of course Sunday so we’ll see how it goes.”

Following Kinsel, Spielman slid into position for another check with her run of 17.44 aboard her mare Hot Donna. Lockhart and Louie ran tenth on the day but managed to grab another check for fifth with their smooth run of 17.60 seconds.

With just one more chance in Pool competition, Kinsel of course is a lock for Showdown Sunday with maxed out earnings of $16,500. Though failing to place for the first time on Thursday, Sharp is still solid with $9,000 won. Miller is third with $8,000 while the final qualifying position is currently held by Spielman with $7,000. The closest contenders are Moore ($4,000), Lockhart ($3,000) and Crossley Tryan and Gallino ($2,500 each).

Day Eight

In 2015 Lockhart captured the championship at the Calgary Stampede aboard “America’s horse,” the great buckskin Louie. So far in 2019, Louie had been his same old solid self, picking up two checks in the first three rounds of Pool B after just returning to competition the first of July after an injury in March had him sidelined.

But with advancement to Showdown Sunday on the line, Lockhart opted to change horses for her final round in pool competition, going with the electric—and often quirky—Rosa, who carried her to fourth in the Showdown Round a year ago.

As the first runner on the ground, the move paid off. Rosa sprinted around Stampede Arena in Lockhart’s best time of the rodeo, 17.21 seconds to take the early round lead.

Though the nuclear-hot tandem of Kinsel and Sister moved them a few runs later with a 17.03, the second place money proved to be the difference maker for Lockhart.

Lockhart edged out Moore in the round, 17.21 to 17.28 to tie the Oregon cowgirl with $7,500 won as the fourth highest total for the pool. The tie breaker for advancement goes to the single highest check in one go round—Moore was consistent, placing fifth, fourth and third but Lockhart’s second place finish on the final day broke the tie in the former Calgary champion’s favor.

Sharp placed for a third day, running 17.42 seconds to boost her total earnings to $11,500, second best of Pool B. Miller changed horses, going to Chongo’s brother Pipewrench and managed another check, this one worth $750 for tying for fifth with Taci Bettis and Tinker Belle, a horse change after three runs aboard Smash.

Miller finished third in the pool money with $8,750 won.

But the story has still been all Kinsel. She managed the clean sweep of her pool to earn $22,000 already while at the Stampede.

Up Next — Wild Card Saturday

Wild Card Saturday gives all the cowgirls who have not already earned a spot on Sunday one more shot at it. The field includes plenty of talent including 2018 Rookie of the Year Jimmie Smith, Brittney Barnett and Amber Moore (who only missed the automatic berth by losing out on the tie breaker), and two-time World Champion Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi.

Also in the field are Wrangler NFR cowgirls Sarah Rose Waguespack, Carman Pozzobon and Taci Bettis as well as leading Canadian racers Kylie Whiteside, Diane Skocdopole. Shelby Spielman just missed the cut. The reigning Canadian champ Callahan Crossley Tryan will compete on Saturday alongside the 2018 WPRA Tour Champ Kaylee Gallino.

Only the two fastest runs from Saturday will move on to Sunday’s final rounds.

Showdown Sunday

Showdown Sunday is a two-run sprint to the championship—all ten ladies will run first in the Semi-Final round with the four fastest moving into the Showdown Round. Those four will race again, sudden death for the title and the huge $100,000 check, half of which counts to WPRA World standings.

The eight cowgirls already in the final round are all ranked inside the top 15 of the WPRA World standings so only the potential Wild Card competitors could come from a position down lower in the standings to make a big push for the Wrangler NFR. The rest are just jockeying for their already good spots inside the standings.

Lockhart has the best record in Calgary of the finalists in the field. She is making her eighth straight appearance on Showdown Sunday and has earned just shy of a quarter million dollars in Calgary in that time frame, an average of just over $28,000 per year. She’s been in the Showdown Round every year but one since winning it all in 2015. She has ridden three different horses during that span: Chisum, Louie and Rosa.

Kinsel is the only other former Calgary Champion in the field for Sunday. She won three go rounds in pool competition in 2018, finished second in the other round and in the Semi-Finals before clinching the title in the Showdown. With four straight firsts so far in 2019, Kinsel and Sister have only been outrun twice in ten career runs in Calgary.

Routier is one of three 2018 Showdown contestants to have a shot to be in the final round again this season. She was third in 2018, winning a big check to clinch her first Wrangler NFR berth last season where she went on to be the Reserve World Champion.

Both Nellie Miller and Emily Miller were in the Showdown Round here in 2017, finishing second and fourth, respectively. Conrado was in the Semi-Final round last year while Telford and Sharp are both making their first appearances in Calgary.

For more information, visit www.calgarystampede.com and action can be watched daily on the Wrangler Network. Stay tuned to www.wpra.com for continuing updates.

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Results (In Progress)

Pool B

1st Go

1. Hailey Kinsel, DM Sissy Hayday, 16.99, $5,500
2. Jennifer Sharp, Six French Smooches, 17.14, $4,500
3. Shelby Spielman, Fame N Red Hot, 17.18, $3,500
4. Callahan Crossley Tryan, Ranger (grade), 17.21, $2,500
5. Amberleigh Moore, CP Dark Moon, 17.27, $1,500

2nd Go

1. Kinsel, 16.93, $5,500
2. Sharp, 16.96, $4,500
3. Emily Miller, Namgis D 33, 17.33, $3,500
4. Moore, 17.41, $2,500
5. Lisa Lockhart, An Okie with Cash, 17.43, $1,500

3rd Go

1. Kinsel, 17.04, $5,500
2. Miller, 17.41, $4,500
3. Spielman, 17.44, $3,500
4. Kaylee Gallino, JC Truly Bob, 17.51, $2,500
5. Lockhart, 17.60, $1,500

4th Go

1. Kinsel, 17.03, $5,500
2. Lockhart, Rosas Cantina CC, 17.21, $4,500
3. Moore, 17.28, $3,500
4. Sharp, 17.42, $2,500
5. Miller, Namgis D 35, 17.45, $750
6. Taci Bettis, 17.45, $750

Total Money Won

*Hailey Kinsel, $22,000
*Jennifer Sharp, $11,500
*Emily Miller, $8,750
*Lisa Lockhart, $7,500
Amber Moore, $7,500
Shelby Spielman, $7,000
Callahan Crossley Tryan, $2,500
Kaylee Gallino, $2,500
Taci Bettis, $750

*Advance to Showdown Sunday

Courtesy of WPRA