Kinsel returned to the Wrangler NFR for the sixth straight year. The Texas cowgirl leaned on some younger horses through the meat of the summer. Sister suffered a bruised foot the first week of June, and Kinsel had already entered through the Fourth of July run at arenas she knew the yellow speedster would like. “She was actually pretty sound pretty quickly, but I didn’t feel like hauling her was the best thing to do,” the jockey said. “I wanted to get her back in firing shape. I had three mares that deserved a chance to go. I didn’t go to Reno (Nevada), but I went to most of the rodeos I entered. “They got the finals made for me in the first month of the summer without her. They got us over the edge. I went ahead and entered the rodeos in the Northwest. I had a fresh horse, so we made a run at it. It was definitely a different season that wasn’t entirely planned, but we just
Hailey Kinsel and Sister didn’t safety up any in the 10th round of the NFR winning the round in a time of 13.35 seconds, the second fastest time of the 2022 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The duo entered their sixth NFR ranked 5th but after winning $182,783, they walked away with the world title. WPRA photo by Kenneth Springer
“Sis felt great, and she got weirdly stronger in the last couple of days,” she said. “By the seventh or eighth round, she started running harder. She always tries, but it was like we had a second wind hit us at the end. She’s amazing to be able to get better. She never acts like she gets sick of it, and I would never blame her if she does. “There is nothing like 10 times in a row, one horse, one building. She was particularly amazing how strong she was at the end. Getting some age on her doesn’t seem to be a problem for her. When we came out of the alley in the 10th round, she was like a shot out of a cannon. When she was 6 and ran the 13.11, I remember wise people who were trying to be helpful telling me, ‘You have to make more practice runs.’ Well, she’s 11, and we went from Albuquerque (New Mexico) in September to December without making a run, and she did pretty well.” With age comes maturity, for Kinsel and her prized yellow stead.
rolled with the punches. We just tried to make the best decision for the horse, and all three of the colts exceeded my expectations.” It’s always about the horses for the barrel racers who compete at a high level. They know there’s no shot at the kind of money they can earn without elite runners. For someone like Kinsel, who owns the richest hardware ever made in rodeo and now has a collection of them, there is a value to her skills on the backs of these beautiful beasts built for speed. How does she remain humble? “That’s God,” she said. “That’s my faith and my family, who instilled that in me.” It’s also rodeo, which can turn that roller coaster ride upside down in a hurry. Of course, she has the comfort of knowing Sister is right there to make the ride with her and has for so long. She started her 2017 season just hoping to run with the big dogs a little bit, then came her intercollegiate national title while competing at Texas A&M. Her first NFR was a grand success, and so have the next five. “I just wanted to get into the winter rodeos and give myself a shot at the future,” Kinsel said. “I intended to come home after that first summer and get a job. “It was not the plan for us. We were just going to see how it went and whatever that was going to look like. It’s opened a lot of doors to do what I do. That’s what I’m doing, and that’s because of Sis. More than anything, it’s what she’s continued to do. She’s continued to make this my life, and I’m grateful for that.” Hailey Kinsel has a heart of gold, a gem of a horse and in just six years, she’s changed the face of barrel racing. Not only did Hailey Kinsel and Sister win the world title but they also turned in the fastest time of the 2022 Wrangler NFR in the ninth round when they stopped the clock in 13.34 seconds, besting the time set in the eighth round by first time qualifier Leslie Smalygo in a time of 13.41 seconds. WPRA photo by Kenneth Springer
WPRA President Jimmie Munroe (left) congratulates Hailey Kinsel (right) on winning her fourth WPRA World Title. Kinsel joins an elite group that has won four or more world titles in the WPRA. That group includes Charmayne James (11), Kristie Peterson, Sherry Cervi and Billie McBride with four. WPRA photo by Kenneth Springer
“Here it is five years later, and she makes the next fastest two runs,” she said. “It’s really cool to have the four fastest runs at the NFR, but it’s cooler that she was able to do them four years apart.” It wasn’t long ago that the 14.00-second run was commonly earning first-place go-round checks in Las Vegas. In 2022, there was only one time above 13.90 to sniff a paycheck, and that was for sixth place on opening night. While Sister shined in Las Vegas, she wasn’t the only reason why
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 WPRA NEWS 13
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