WPRA NEWS

RodeoHouston Crowns Champions

By Ann Bleiker

Three months have passed since Kassie Mowry was crowned the 2024 WPRA World Champion barrel racer, her first, edging out four-time world champion Hailey Kinsel for the title. On Sunday afternoon (March 23) inside NRG Stadium for the final round of RodeoHouston it was this duo once again battling it out for the top spot.

Kinsel aboard Sister ran first in the four-woman finals setting the bar with a 14.52 second run, while Mowry and 2024 Horse of the Year Force The Goodbye “Jarvis” was last out. Jarvis would have to lay down a faster time than he had in the preliminary round that day as the duo finished fourth in that round in a time of 14.70 to advance to the Finals. Jarvis, who was celebrating his 7^th birthday, rose to the occasion and stopped the clock in 14.50 seconds to secure his jockey her second RodeoHouston title, her first coming in 2017.

“I am just so grateful for that horse as he rose to the occasion and got it done today,” stated Mowry in the winner’s circle. “He seems to always know when I need him the most. It was great to finally nail the first barrel as that had been a struggle for us here, so I was super proud of him for that. He always runs as hard as he can, and I am just so thankful for him.”

With the win, Mowry added $73,000 to her 2025 earnings to shoot to the top of the WPRA World Standings surpassing the $100,000 mark with $107,427. She will remain in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future as her next closest competitor is Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi with $57,295.

Pozzi Tonozzi riding a horse, called Bobby, shipped in from Australia, finished third in Houston stopping the clock in 14.59 seconds. Competing in her first RodeoHouston finals was Acey Pinkston who would finish fourth in a time of 14.79 seconds. Pinkston, the daughter of Liz Pinkston, is ranked 10^th with $29,351.

On the roping end it was none other than Taylor Munsell capturing her first RodeoHouston title after stopping the clock in 2.7 seconds. She edged Bradi Good, who was the first gunner out in the finals setting the bar at 2.8 seconds.

            Munsell has qualified for the last four Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping with the hopes of taking home the title but so far it has eluded her but with a big win in Houston it might just be the key to capturing that world title in 2025. She leads the world standings with $88,650, with Joey Williams second having collected $50,484 thus far.

            “Bradi (Good) definitely put the pressure on me, and I am just thankful my horse helped get me to the spot to get the rope on and stop the clock,” stated Munsell, who won $70,125 in Houston.

            When asked if this win will change her strategy for the rest of the season, Munsell simply stated, “I love to rodeo so will plan to go to the rodeos I like to go to, but it will be nice having a cushion while doing that.”

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