ONE FOR THE BUCKET LIST
Pozzi Tonozzi finally adds elusive San Antonio victory to career resume By Neal Reid
A fter years of dreaming and several close calls, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi was finally able to add the elusive San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo title to her Hall of Fame worthy resume. On Feb. 22, the two-time world champion barrel racer was triumphant at one of the crown jewels of the sport, enjoying an accomplishment that was nearly 20 years in the making. Aboard her 9-year-old mare Babe on The Chase, whom she calls “Birdie,” Pozzi Tonozzi stopped the clock in 14.02 seconds to tie Jill Wilson in the championship finals of the bracket-style rodeo and add yet another feather in her cap. “That’s definitely been a bucket list rodeo for me and everyone, and I’d gotten so close in the past with Duke,” said Pozzi Tonozzi, the 2007 and 2009 world champion. “After he went down, I hadn’t had a horse I felt would fit that building well, and it turns out now I have two.” Pozzi Tonozzi grew up attending the prestigious rodeo, and after the barrel racing bug bit her as a pre-teen, winning San Antonio developed into a career goal. “My parents would take us to the rodeo for the entertainment, and we’d watch the rodeo, too,” said Pozzi Tonozzi, who joined the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association in 2003. “I didn’t start running barrels until I was about 12, and it became a dream
(to win it) the older I got.” She rode her 7-year-old chestnut mare Ima Famous Babe “Katniss” in Bracket 5 of that portion of the million-dollar rodeo, then climbed aboard Birdie for the semifinals and finals. Pozzi Tonozzi and Katniss finished third in the first two rounds, then won the third round in 14.02 seconds to march onward. “I think I won third in the first two rounds, so I felt like if I just won a check that would be good enough,” said Pozzi Tonozzi, of Lampasas, Texas. “I ended up winning the round.” Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) judges stopped the barrel racing during the first round of Semifinal 2 due to unsafe ground conditions, and the cowgirls regrouped to run again the next day after the surface was re-worked. From then on, it was a fierce battle among the nation’s best barrel racers. “Thankfully, the judges stopped the rodeo, and we ran the next morning and the ground was great,” Pozzi Tonozzi said. “The girls enjoyed running on nice, fresh ground.” From there, the talented cowgirl guided Birdie to victory in 13.91 seconds of the second round of Semifinal 2 before tying Wilson – who earned $23,250 in San Antonio to move to fourth place in the world standings – for the overall crown. Pozzi Tonozzi pocketed $23,500 for her big win and was thrilled to flourish despite the rodeo’s grueling format.
12 WPRA NEWS APRIL 2020
Made with FlippingBook Annual report