GOLDEN AGAIN Kinsel Tops The Barrel Racing Field for Fourth Time in Six
Years By Ted Harbin I
f Hailey Kinsel were as golden as her four buckles, then Sister is the diamond that makes everything shine. Kinsel earned her fourth WPRA world championship when she and DM Sissy Hayday put on a Las Vegas spectacular during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. They won five go-rounds – that includes sharing the fifth go with Lisa Lockhart – and placed on two other nights to earn $182,783 during a 10-day gem of ProRodeo’s grand finale.
In her six trips to the Wrangler NFR, Kinsel has finished no worse than second and has won a total of $1,109,429 at the NFR alone in her career, a true indication of the champion she is and the champion she’s ridden at each one. Even though she had two tipped barrels, Kinsel still found a place in the average (eighth). When she and Sister left the Nevada desert, they were No. 1 in the world standings with $302,172 and outdistanced reigning world champ Jordon Briggs by less than a go-round victory.
Hailey Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday “Sister” flew through the cloverleaf pattern at the Thomas and Mack winning or sharing the win in five out of 10 rounds en route to their fourth world title. In doing so, they also surpassed the $1 million mark in NFR earnings alone. WPRA photo by Hailey Rae
a little harder. I didn’t come to the NFR in the top two in the world, but it wasn’t like I had to have one of the best NFRs I’ve ever had. “I also came in a little less laser-focused on the world championship. It allowed me to be a little more free. I think that comes from maturity, and it comes from loss from previous years. I think what changed in me was maturing and realizing that so much of this is out of our control. The only reason we get to do this is because of our horses.” That also included the daily grind that led to the hectic 10 December nights. By focusing her attention on the things within her control, Kinsel found a great deal of joy in the experience. Of course, running one of the greatest barrel racing horses of all time certainly helps. “I was going to find the good things in all of it, and I think that has really helped my perspective the last couple of years, even the last couple of days,” she said. “I was going to be happy with myself and my horse regardless of the results, and I think that helped a ton.” Sister is an 11-year-old palomino mare out of Royal Sissy Irish by PC Frenchmans Hayday, and she’s been a rock star since the day Kinsel put her on tour. They’ve won all over the place and, in 2020, set the world record on a standard pattern with a 16.63-second run at Dodge City, Kansas. Four months later, they broke that record with a 16.56 at the Wrangler NFR in Arlington, Texas, during the championship’s COVID-related one-year hiatus from Las Vegas. Sister also owns the four fastest times ever recorded inside the Thomas & Mack Center, with the record being 13.11 seconds in 2017. She and Kinsel have also stopped the clock in 13.13, 13.34 and 13.35 – the last two times came during the last two go-rounds of this year’s finale.
“It’s all still setting in, trying to make sense in my head that we got it done,” said Kinsel of Cotulla, Texas. “I think I was so tired after that it was relieving, not only to have pulled it off but for it all to be over. Maybe once I get my energy back, I’ll really be able to reflect on it and let it set in.” It takes a lot to manage the two weeks in Las Vegas. There are appearances and meetings and practices. Sister still needs attention, even though she has been through this experience six times, and Kinsel had to find time to take care of herself. She battled through the Vegas crud, downed barrels and making sure she met all requirements made of her time, and she still came out a winner. “It’s special,” she said. “It was a hard-fought victory. It was an incredible barrel race. Last year was like that, but it was between two of us; this year there were four of us down to the wire. I was thrilled to be in the mix of that sort of race.” It was a race to the finish line, too. Briggs was coming down the stretch, as was Lisa Lockhart, who was competing at the Wrangler NFR for a 16th consecutive time. Wenda Johnson made a run for the gold, and Shelley Morgan’s consistency shined in her average title. With Kinsel, they made up the top five in the final world standings, and despite penalties on three nights, Emily Beisel finished sixth on the money list thanks to a strong NFR that saw her collect nearly $130,000 in go-round money alone. “I feel like they all feel super unique in their own ways,” Kinsel said of her four Montana Silversmiths gold buckles. “This one definitely felt
12 WPRA NEWS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
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