YUMA RECAP FANCY FOR THE WIN Goemmer and Fancy Tops in Yuma By Joe Kusek M indy Goemmer was having a nice dinner with her mother on the second Sunday of February when she received a Facebook message from Tarryn Lee, a friend and fellow barrel racer. Lee, of St. David, Arizona, was trying to find the results from the 75th Annual Yuma Jaycees Silver Spur Rodeo which ran, Feb. 7-9. Goemmer knew the answer. “You did good … I did a little better,” Goemmer told Lee. “I moved you to second. Sorry.”
Goemmer, who had competed earlier that day, won the barrel racing title at the Arizona rodeo by one-hundredth of a second. Goemmer, of Battle Mountain, Nevada won in 17.36 seconds, slipping past Lee’s time of 17.37 seconds by the narrowest of margins. “I had no idea it was that good,” said Goemmer of her time. “Tarryn has an amazing horse. I told her, ‘Any time I can run with you, I’m happy.’ “ Lee is the reigning Turquoise Circuit champion, having dominated the finals last October in Prescott Valley, Arizona. Yuma was more than just an early-season win for Goemmer, a married mother of two daughters. It also marked the return of her horse, Cuchara Fancy and Fast to the competitive arena. “We call her Fancy,” said Goemmer of the 10-year-old bay. Out of Quincy’s Night Life and sired by Dash Air, Fancy had been away from the arena since last June after sustaining a fall and suffering a chipped hip. “The day, she fell, I knew something was wrong. She bucked the rest of the way down the arena,” Goemmer said. Goemmer initially had the horse treated at the Cave Creek Equine trying to find the reason for the problem. “We dug a little deeper to see what was wrong,” she said. The horse rehabbed at Santolina Farm, Inc., in Cave Creek with a regimen that included stem cell treatment and plenty of swimming. “A chipped hip is a major injury,” said Goemmer. “It’s always in the back of your mind, being worried about letting her run even when the ultrasound looks good. You’ve got to be strong mentally.” Goemmer first ran Fancy at Helzapoppin in Buckeye, Ariz., placing third.
“I was very pleased,” said Goemmer of the outing. “I should have pushed her all the way through.” Almost two weeks later, Goemmer let Fancy cut loose in Yuma. Her check of $1,749 at Yuma, coupled with the money from Buckeye almost matches her total Turquoise Circuit earnings of 2019, where she qualified for the circuit finals for the first time. “It went very good,” she said of winning effort. “You run on deeper sand there and she really likes it. The deeper sand holds you in the turns and she got right through it.” Standing 16 hands, “She’s big and powerful,” said Goemmer, there is nothing fancy to Fancy’s approach to the barrels. “She’s just fast. The fastest horse I’ve ever been on,” Goemmer added. And versatile, according to the rider. “I use her for a lot of things,” continued Goemmer. “I use her for roping, branding, penning … it keeps her mentally sound.” But when the music sounds, Fancy knows it is time to race. “When she hears the music, she’s ready,” Goemmer said. “She’s a live wire. The key is when warming her up. She is walking on egg shells. You have to get her settled down. “When I go to two hands, she knows it’s time to go to work.” Goemmer and her husband Shawn, a retired saddle bronc rider, ranch approximately 350,000 acres in Nevada and spend the winter months in Wittmann, Arizona with her mother-in-law Karen Goemmer, who actually owns Fancy. “We’re blessed to be able to do this,” said Mindy Goemmer, who also trains horses. Her two daughters, Riata (20) and Dally (21) are also WPRAmembers. Both are competing collegiately with Riata at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon and Dally attending New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M. “We’re pretty good about competing together,” said Goemmer. “I do continued on page 33 Yuma was more than just an early-season win for Mindy Goemmer, a married mother of two daughters. It also marked the return of her horse, Cuchara Fancy and Fast to the competitive arena. Fancy as she is known around the barn had been away from the arena since last June after sustaining a fall and a chipped hip. Photo by Reed Settle
Mindy Goemmer and her 10-year old bay mare she calls Fancy took top honors at the 75th Annual Yuma Jaycees Silver Spur Rodeo, which ran Feb. 7-9. Goemmer of Battle Mountain, Nev., stopped the clock in 17.36 seconds to barely clip Tarryn Lee who finished with a 17.37-second run. Photo by Reed Settle
MARCH 2020 WPRA NEWS 31
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