Lindsay Sears' first victory at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo was a little amazing for the 2008 world champion.

"I was definitely surprised and very excited, because I didn't think I had a chance to win it," said Sears, of Nanton, Alberta, who clinched the title on Feb. 20 by winning the final round with a 13.94-second run and earning the $12,445 paycheck. "The format of the rodeo and the way it works, whoever has the most money at the end of it wins.

"There were four other girls that made the finals, and the others had more money than me when we got there."
Sears earned $17,112, the lion's share coming from her final run on Sugar Moon Express. But she also won her semifinals race by rounding the cloverleaf pattern in 13.77 seconds and adding $2,072 on the 10-year-old sorrel mare she calls Martha, out of Babys Blue Jeans and by Dr Nick Bar.

"My goal going into Saturday night was to go for day money and try to win the final round," said Sears, who finished the 2009 season second in the world standings. "I definitely didn't consider thinking I actually had a chance to win the entire rodeo. I had nothing to lose, and everything went my way."

That's the truth. Sears and Martha almost didn't get preliminary round in the bracketed format. They won the fourth go-round to squeak into the semifinals, where they posted the fastest time to advance to the finals. In the final round, they ran past the field and to the trophy stand.

"The more you run Martha in a building, the stronger she gets," Sears said. "That's exactly what happened in San Antone.

"Martha is as strong as she's been in a long time. Since June of last year, she hasn't felt this good."

That's good news for Sears and Martha, maybe not so good for the rest of the WPRA barrel racing field.