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| Tammy
Bruso (WPRA photo by Larry Smith) |
Pocatello, Idaho-It may well go
down as one of the most exciting WPRA barrel races in
Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo history. With one
arena record already in the books posted by Wilderness
Circuit Champion Sue Smith on opening night, the barrel
racers heated things up even more on Saturday night.
With the DNCFR Championship on the
line, Tammy Bruso and her 10-year old mare, Sweet Red
Bug, proved that consistency wins titles.
Bruso, the Southeastern Circuit
champion, had a relatively quiet DNCFR until the final
run. She posted runs of 14.96 seconds and 14.97 in the
first two rounds. In any normal year, these times would
have been winning rounds but in the torrid conditions
of 2010, Bruso collected a split of fourth and fifth
in the second go and fourth in the average.
With all times erased for Saturday
night, eight ladies took their shot at being one of
the four who would come back to run for the championship.
With nothing to lose, the times were again in record
territory.
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| Sue Smith
sets a new arena record at Holt Arena for the second
time in a week during the semifinal round on Saturday.
(WPRA photo by Larry Smith) |
Smith, a resident of Blackfoot,
Idaho, just up the road from Pocatello, was riding a
borrowed horse this week while her own partner Real
Claim to Fame, Claimer, was recovering from a bout with
pneumonia. Smith is living the expression, "rode
him like you stole him." After winning the first
round, Smith and Chet, borrowed from Columbia River
stand out Kim Kammenzind, wowed the crowd at Holt Arena
one more time in the semifinals.
Smith and the big lanky gelding
rounded the course in 14.65 seconds - another arena
record. Smith won $5,614 for that run.
Meanwhile, Dothan, Ala., cowgirl
Bruso and her mare posted another consistent run at
14.86, good enough for third behind Smith and Texas
Circuit Champion Tammy Fischer, who ran a 14.73. Kelsi
Elkins, who won the 2009 Turquoise Circuit title as
a rookie, completed the field for the finals with her
time of 14.88.
All eight ladies in the semifinals
posted sub-fifteen second runs, a remarkable feat in
itself, proving that the competitors of the WPRA truly
represent the best in the world.
With little time to regroup, the
four circuit champions-two with NFR experience and two
without, for now at least-made the final runs of the
2010 DNCFR.
Elkins and her mare, My Distant
Angel, kicked things off, posting another 14 second
run, this one a 14.99 to take the early lead.
Bruso was next. Her 14.90 edged
Elkins with two ladies left to sweat through, including
the red hot Smith.
"Not really," Bruso replies
when asked if she had made a game plan for the week.
"I just was determined. I kept focused and took
one run at a time."
Tammy Fischer and her horse Money
ran a 15.03 that landed her third.
The crowd roaring for their "hometown"
gal, Smith and Chet were all that stood between Bruso
and her championship. When the clock stopped, another
14.65 stood on the board but a five second penalty for
a tipped barrel pushed the time to 19.65.
Bruso became only the second Southeastern
Circuit cowgirl, and first in 17 years, to claim the
DNCFR Championship. The first was Sharon Smith back
in 1993.
"It is like a dream come true,"
Bruso says of her first DNCFR Championship, won in her
first qualification. "I didn't start barrel racing
until I was 40 years old. It has been quite a ride.
I am thankful for the great horse I have and appreciate
the support that I have had from Ann Thompson who enters
me everywhere. I just need to let this soak in for a
while. "
Bruso stuffed $11,439 and a $20K
voucher from Dodge Rodeo towards the purchase of any
Dodge vehicle in her Wranglers. Event winners also received
a Montana Silversmiths buckle and certificate for a
pair of Justin Boots.
"It took me four days to get
here from Alabama," Bruso laughs. "I had only
seen snow two times in my life and when I got here it
snowed the first night. But, I had a great feeling all
the way out. Then barrel practice on Wednesday morning
gave me even more confidence. This arena is just what
suits my mare. I just knew it was going to be a good
week."
Despite the penalty in the final
round, Smith finished as the high money winner for the
rodeo with $15,860. Elkins, who along with Bruso was
the only competitor to post four 14 second runs, collected
$13,333. Nine ladies shared in the purse at the 2010
DNCFR including Smith, Elkins, Bruso, Christina Richman
($10,667), Fischer ($8982), Lisa Lockhart ($4632), Mary
Burger ($2526), Tracee Young ($2035), and Britany Fleck
($701).
The team title went to the Texas
Circuit. The champion circuit team receives $8,000 ($500
per member) bonus from Dodge Rodeo.
The win by the Texas Circuit snapped
the Wilderness Circuit team's dominance. The Wilderness
Circuit had won four of the past six team titles, including
the past three years.
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