WILDERNESS CIRCUIT: BARRELS Making Headlines
Yerrington Snakes By in the Snakepit, Will Represent Wilderness Circuit at NFR Open
By Allie Bohus W hen Carey, Idaho cattle rancher Kristy Yerrington bought a 3-in-1 package (a bred mare, and her 1 month foal) in June of 2014 she could have never dreamed that eight years later that foal would have carried her to winning the Wilderness Circuit Finals average title and punch her ticket to compete on a national stage at the NFR Open. As luck would have it, the stars aligned and that is exactly what happened. By a mere 0.02 of a second, Yerrington won her first Wilderness Circuit Finals average aboard A Dynamite Goodbye, “Fish.” “Fish is literally very, very quirky. You kind of just have to deal with it. I don’t think she’s for everyone,” Yerrington said jovially. “I’ve done everything with her. You just do what you have to do to get by and keep her happy. She’s one of those with a huge heart and a lot of try, she’s a winner.” Yerrington and Fish had a really good season leading into the circuit finals as well. “I went to probably 16-17 rodeos and won or placed at probably 90-percent of them,” noted Yerrington. “It was kind of a fairytale story. This summer my goal was just to make the circuit finals. The last little
all the credit. It takes a special kind to be a winner and she is all that and more,” she said proudly. “I had won quite a bit in the derbies and things like that but to win the average in that set of girls… if you can do good, that is a HUGE HUGE deal. Especially for me - to not have been rodeoing much and to be kind of out of the game for a little while… Then to win the average against those tough, tough horses is just one of the best feelings” she said. Growing up running cattle on her family’s ranch, Yerrington rodeoed since she was young - starting with pee-wee rodeos, advancing through the ranks of Junior rodeo and High School rodeo, before competing within the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (college rodeoing for Boise State University), as well as local amateur associations before joining the WPRA in 2012. After college, Yerrington went on a 10- Kristy Yerrington won her first Wilderness Circuit Finals average title aboard A Dynamite Goodbye “Fish.” It was a close race as with Yerrington finishing with 51.09 seconds on three runs to Meka Farr’s 51.11 second finish. Both ladies will represent the Wilderness Circuit at the NFR Open as Farr won the year-end title. Photo by Amanda Dilworth
run I had debated on going, and then Fish won over $5,000 and ended up putting us sixth in the standings. I knew I could play with those girls. I wanted to win the average as there was no chance of me winning the year-end (won by Meka Farr). I thought if I won the average I can go to the NFR Open and that can really escalate my world, and we did it by .02!” Although she was not in the money the first round at the 2022 Wilderness Circuit Finals, held the first weekend in November in Heber City, Utah, Yerrington won the second round with a 16.82. She won
year hiatus from running barrels before moving home in 2010. Horses and rodeo have been very much a family affair for her. Her father, Jim Barton, was a reined cow horse trainer and always made sure she had ‘good broke horses’ growing up, and her husband Cody Yerrington formerly team roped in the PRCA. Cody and Kristy help run her dad’s ranch now, and it unfortunately doesn’t leave Cody must time to rodeo himself, but “he’s my biggest fan,” she said.
Kristy Yerrington was all smiles after punching her ticket to the NFR Open in July 2023. Yerrington will be making her first trip to this national event and will be looking to add more hardware to her trophy room. Photo by Amanda Dilworth
fourth in the third round with a 17.05, which put her 51.09 seconds on three head. Meka Farr who ended up winning the year-end was 51.11 seconds in the average putting her second place, and Jillette Atkinson (51.20 seconds) came in hot on their heels in the No. 3 average spot. It was a real nail biter. “The average race was so close, we were trying to figure it out on our calculators, it was one of those moments, it was super cool. I’m still kind of on Cloud 9. I am super proud of my horse. I really do give her
Meka Farr will be making a return trip to the national circuit finals now known as the NFR Open after winning the year-end title with $28,215. Photo by Amanda Dilworth
26 WOMEN’S PRO RODEO NEWS DECEMBER 2022
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