RODEO NEWS

Back-to-Back Champs in Reno – Munsell, Kinsel defend titles

By Ann Bleiker

With a payout of over $750,000, the Reno Rodeo is a must stop on any contestant’s schedule trying to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at season’s end. Celebrating 106 years this year, the rodeo has traditionally marked the real start of the summer rodeo run, so not only is the payout important but so is the momentum.

To win the Reno Rodeo once is a feat in any contestant’s career but to win it back-to-back is quite an accomplishment and both WPRA champions can hang their hat on that achievement. Taylor Munsell and her palomino Ray won the breakaway roping title for the second straight year, while Hailey Kinsel and her palomino Sister took home the barrel racing win.

“That rodeo just really fits my style with the calves out in front of you,” stated Munsell. “Obviously you want to win it, but I knew if I made good runs, I would make some good money. The first round wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, but my second was good and my short round was great. I had a nice lucky loop there.”

Munsell was 3.0 on her first calf to finish tied for 15th the last hole in the payout to pickup $47. She tied for third in the second round in a time of 2.4 for $2,698 and won the final round in a time of 2.6 worth $2,099.

“They had run that calf four times and only one person made a clean run on him to be 3 flat,” stated Munsell about her final round calf.

It is a little deja’vu for Munsell as last year she was ranked No. 1 in the WPRA World Standings coming into Reno and she is in the same position this year. Munsell has qualified for the finals ever since the event was added five years ago and now she has two sets of spurs to show for it.

Ironically enough both years she finished with a total time of 8.0 seconds on three head.

“I didn’t even notice that until the next day,” noted Munsell. “I was thinking I was 2.4, 2.4 and 3.2 last year and this year was 3.0, 2.4 and 2.6 to be 8 both years. That is pretty uncommon to win back-to-back with the exact same time.”

The Oklahoma cowgirl called upon her 17-year-old gelding Pals Star Shine. 

“Same horse and exact same time was very unique,” said Munsell. “It was pretty easy to decide to use him again. I have actually ridden all three of my horses there at some point but that horse, it was just so easy on him last year on that set-up and again this year. He was pretty much perfect on every run, so he must really like Reno too.” 

It is always nice to find good paying rodeos that fits one style and to have their horse like it too. 

“This one is a good one to do good at not just for confidence and momentum but for the money so we can afford the fuel and fees over the next few weeks,” added Munsell. “Nice to start with a bit of a cushion for the summer run.” 

Munsell was the big money winner in Reno, male or female, collecting a total of $11,883 as she heads into the busy Fourth of July run that will be closely followed by the Calgary Stampede. This will be the first year that breakaway roping is added as a main event at the Calgary Stampede.

“I am super excited,” said Munsell, when asked about having breakaway roping be part of the big show this year in Calgary. “The last two years we have went up there it has been such a quick trip I never set eyes on the actual arena in person but have seen on TV. It will be fun to be part of the first set of breakaway ropers in the big show. I will be hauling up there with Kelsie Domer, so it is cool since we won it the first two years and now we get to be in the first set.”

While Munsell is happy with where she is at in the standings, she knows there is still a lot of rodeo left in the 2025 season.

“There are so maybe good breakaway ropers behind me and so many great rodeos with big payouts still ahead you can’t let off the gas.”

The barrel racing got super-fast during the run of the Reno Rodeo with McKenna Coronado, trying to qualify for her first Wrangler NFR, making headlines setting a new arena record with a 16.62 second run to win the second round aboard her palomino KT Shine Down that she simply calls Shine.

But it was the palomino that everyone knows as Sister that carried her jockey to a second straight title in Reno. This world champion duo won the average in a time of 50.97 seconds to outdistance Emily Beisel and her palomino Chewy for the title for the second year in a row. Beisel finished with a 51.12, while Coronado took third in 51.15.

These three will be ones to keep your eyes on as the summer unfolds.

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