WPRA NEWS

Busby and Benny Break NFR Average Record

By Joe Kusek

LAS VEGAS – Benny can be grumpy.

Not really in the mood to get in the trailer, some days he would prefer to be left alone.

But put a saddle on him at the arena and a transformation occurs.

“That’s his happy place,” said owner Andrea Busby.

Benny has made a lot of people happy at the Thomas and Mack Center.

Busby and the superstar nine-year-old gelding were the only pair to have 10 clean runs at the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to win the barrel racing average title.

            The smooth-running duo set a new NFR average record finishing in a time of 136.16 seconds on 10 runs. The previous record was 136.83 seconds set by 2021 WPRA World Champion Jordon Briggs of Tolar, Texas.

            “I couldn’t have even dreamed this up,” said Busby, of Millsap, Texas, who was competing in her first Wrangler NFR. “I don’t think Walt Disney could have written this for me.

            “I wanted the record more for him. To show what a great horse he is. In my experience, he is one of the best to ever run. Records are made to be broken. If it lasts 365 days, I’m fine with that.”

            Originally from Lusk, Wyoming, Busby said she had 18 family members cheering for their favorite barrel racer. “That was super fun,” she said.

            A year ago, Benny carried Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi to her third WPRA world title in the same building. In fact, Pozzi Tonozzi brought Benny down the alleyway 9 out of 10 rounds in 2023 and they placed in eight of those rounds just catching a barrel on their final run.

            “Brittany is like family,” said Busby, adding that Garrett Tonozzi did her entering for 2024.

            Busby and Benny earned $227,879 at the NFR, the seventh-most among the 120 competitors. Busby jumped from 12^th to third in the WPRA world standings with $343,705 for the year.

            “Fabulous,” Busby described Benny’s performance.

            Running with metronomic consistency, Busby and the horse registered as Jets Top Gun, placed in nine of 10 rounds. Their fastest time was 13.48 in Round 7 and the slowest was 13.81 in Round 4. There was only a difference of .16 seconds in the other eight rounds.

            “He was just a rockstar from start to finish,” said Busby. “He’s fast. And he’s very strong. He can wrap a barrel and leave. Benny is very honest and never cuts me off. He lets you guide him to the right spot. Benny is so smart, so athletic, he understands his job,”

            Busby took the lead in the average after Round 7. She entered the final round with a lead of .57 seconds over Tiany Schuster, of Krum, Texas. Schuster bumped a barrel and Busby and Benny delivered a time of 13.61 seconds to share third place.

            “You can’t safety up on a horse like that. That’s when you get in trouble,” Busby said. “He goes at it every single time. I don’t know how big his heart is.”

            Benny, from legendary sire Blazin Jetolena and GL Famous First Lady, is from a growing line of standout horses from Busby Quarter Horses, owned by Busby and her husband Jeff. Busby estimates they have 150 horses in various stages of training.

            Blazin Jetolena has produced several NFR Qualifiers and rodeo champions in barrel racing. He is the sire of three Cheyenne Frontier Days and Pendleton Round-Up Champions and was the maternal grandsire of 2021 WPRA World Champion/Horse of the Year, Famous Lil Jet. In 2024, not only was Busby riding one of his progenies but so was Carlee Otero aboard Blingolena. Blazin Jetolena passed in February of 2023, but his legacy is alive and well in the industry.

            The bond between Busby and Benny is exceptionally strong.

            “I’ve worked at this a long time,” she said. “It’s so special to have this on a horse that we were there when he was born. We watched him grow up. He’s just been part of our life and part of our program and never taken him for granted.”

            Busby credited Janna Beam Brown for training Benny and Tonozzi for seasoning the horse in 2023.

            “All the things that came together, the people who put a hand on him and helped him along the way and did so much for him,” said Busby. “To know you helped him and trained him right.

            “He is an elite athlete.”

            Busby knows about competing at a high level.

            Growing up on the family ranch — in the family since 1910 — she rode horses to help her father move cattle and for fun. The rest of her time was spent in the gym as a standout athlete for Niobrara County High School in Lusk.

            After graduation, she played basketball and volleyball at Casper (Wyoming) College. Busby moved on to Montana State University where she was a setter for the NCAA Division I volleyball program.

            “College volleyball is such a commitment, it doesn’t give you much time to ride,” she said.

            Busby graduated from MSU with a degree in nursing and spent four years as an ICU nurse in Billings. While looking for a horse in Texas, she met her husband.

            “I got a horse and husband,” she joked.

            Busby plans to give Benny some well-deserved rest. “He likes to eat and roll in a dirt pile,” she said. “Benny is going to get turned out to the grass for a while. We’ll give him some R ’n R. He gets to be a horse for a little bit.”

            Busby will ride her mares Tito, Derby and Pickles for the early part of 2025. She won Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2022 aboard Tito.

            “As long as the horses are sound. We’ll see how it goes at the start of the year,” she said.

            Along with preparing for the next generation of four-legged superstars, Busby had some other unfinished business upon returning home.

            “Lots of laundry … holy-moly,” she said with a laugh. “Barrel racing is something I do, something I love. Benny is so special.

            “I hope he loves me as much as I love him.”

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