NFR Barrel Racing Recap Rounds 1 & 2: Hailey Kinsel and Sister Are on Fire
Rounds 1 and 2 at the Thomas & Mack belong to Hailey Kinsel and Sister. They are on 🔥🔥.
Round 1
Round one of the barrel racing action kicked off on Thursday night at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and Hailey Kinsel showed why she’s sitting number one in the world standings. The first round runs in standings order, and Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday (Sister) took full advantage of the fresh ground to run a 13.38 which held the lead through 14 other competitors.
Hailey and her mare Sister have won the world title four times, have over a million dollars in NFR earnings, and hold the arena record with a 13.11. They are no strangers to success in Vegas. This win gave Kinsel her 22nd round win buckle in eight qualifications to the NFR and earned the duo $33,687.18. Hailey said she knew her mare was going to fire with how fresh she had been acting at the practices earlier this week and just let her do what she does best.
Carlee Otero and Blingolena (Sly) ran a 13.55 for second place. Carlee is competing at her 4th NFR, 10 years after her last qualification in 2014. Barrel racing fans might remember her as Carlee Pierce aboard the blazing fast buckskin gelding, Rare Dillion. Dillion was a handful to run then and required a handy rider. Carlee’s riding hasn’t weakened over the years — Sly was a powerhouse around all three barrels and this duo will definitely be on our radar for the next nine rounds.
NFR first-timer Abby Phillips and her mare VF Expensive Taste (Andi Anderson) ran a 13.63 to take third in the round. Abby lost her main horse Crown Ta Fame in July of 2023 and that was when she decided to see if her younger horse could handle the rodeo life. Andi Anderson has more than proven herself to help get the duo to the bright lights of Vegas, and they put together a beautiful run last night. Once these two get settled in we might just see a round win from them this week.
Another one to watch closely this week is Kassie Mowry and 2024 Horse of the year, Force The Goodbye (Jarvis). This team qualified to the NFR fourth in the standings, with by far the least amount of rodeos attended at just 27. They cruised through the pattern and out of the arena with a 13.34 after unfortunately bringing down first barrel. They will be out for redemption in the next nine rounds, and don’t be surprised if they win a couple.
Round 2
Hailey Kinsel and Sister didn’t let being 14th out on the ground affect them. The duo ran a 13.48 to win Round 2 and add another $33,687 to their NFR earnings. Not only did they win the round, but also they broke the arena record for Round 2 previously held by Amberleigh Moore in 2017. At this point everyone knows if Sister wraps her first barrel, watch the clock because she’s about to blow everyone out of the water. She came in and had what was possibly one of the best first barrels of her career last night — and everyone was on their toes from there. There are eight rounds left and these two have only accumulated 23 round wins in their career at this point — what’s a few more?
Kassie Mowry and Force the Goodbye kept them all up in Round 2 by running a 13.51, which earned them a second place check for $26,624. After knocking the first barrel in round 1, these two were back for some redemption. Kassie and Jarvis have been a very successful team since their first competition run in the 2021 BFA Super Stakes slot race, where they ended up second for $35,000. They have gone on to win over $800,000 in lifetime earnings between futurity, derby and rodeo events. They won Rounds 8 and 9 last year at the NFR and I am sure we will see them in the buckle ceremonies this week.
We are just getting started with 8 rounds left so stay tuned! Who do you think will take Round 3 tonight? Who do you think will win the average at the end of all 10 rounds?
