RODEO NEWS

The Proof is in the Dirt in the Wilderness Circuit

By Ann Bleiker

As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a Day. The same can be said for good barrel racing ground at ProRodeos. No one knows this better than Julie Herman, who for the past 15 years has served as the Wilderness Circuit Director and in March took over the reins as WPRA Vice President.

From day one, Herman’s top priority was working with the rodeo committees and more importantly the tractor drivers at the rodeos she oversaw for the WPRA to have good and safe ground for all barrel racers and their equine partners. It has been a labor of love and now her hard work is showing in record times.

“The key for me has been keeping track of the tractor drivers and I have had Jake (Van) come to the circuit finals and talk to the rodeo committees, so they are aware of the importance,” stated Herman. “I may not know every committee guy by name, but I know all the tractor drivers by name.”

Proving that building relationships with the key people is important to getting the results needed can be summed up when looking at the top 5 record times on a WPRA Standard Pattern at a PRCA Rodeo. The latest standard pattern record came at the Cassia County Fair and Rodeo in Burley, Idaho, when Makenna Shook and XV Mario ran a 16.53 second run. The previous record was set outside the Wilderness Circuit when Hailey Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday “Sister” stopped the clock in 16.56 seconds on the standard pattern at the 2020 Wrangler NFR the year the event moved to Arlington, Texas, at Globe Life Field.

Ironically enough the night prior to Shook’s run in Burley, she received a call from someone telling her the ground was not good and not to run Mario, which had her second guessing herself. However, Shook dug a little deeper in her research and called fellow competitor McKenna Coronado who reassured her that she would be fine.

“I obviously thought it was great,” said Shook about the ground. “He is so young so he really doesn’t know the difference, but he will take care of himself if the ground is not good. So, if the ground wasn’t good, he wouldn’t have ran that fast.”

While Shook broke Kinsel’s record at the NFR dropping her to second on the list, Kinsel also owns the third and fifth fastest times which just so happen to have been set in the Wilderness Circuit. She and Sister ran a 16.57 in Spanish Fork, Utah in July and also has a 16.59 at the 2024 Mountain Valley Stampede in Heber City, Utah. In addition, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi ran a 16.59 on Jets Top Gun “Benny” in 2023 at That Famous Preston (ID) Night Rodeo

“We have so many tractor drivers that have so much passion that they just want to be the best, so I am not surprised at our record runs,” noted Herman about their success in the Wilderness Circuit. “They all get very competitive amongst themselves as well to be the best.

The only other rodeo outside the Wilderness Circuit in the top 5 times on a standard pattern at a PRCA Rodeo is Jodee Miller’s 16.58-second run on M R Im On Fire Guys at the 2024 Ellensburg (WA) Rodeo.

The WPRA standard pattern is 90 feet between the first and second and 105 feet from the first and second to the third with a 60-foot score between the barrels and the timers. It should be noted that a WPRA standard is measured from the center of the barrel versus others that are measured to the outside edge of the barrel.

Herman estimates that about 80-percent of all Wilderness Circuit rodeos are run on a standard pattern.

While many in the industry have heard of Randy Spraggins, who handled the dirt at the 2020 Wrangler NFR in Arlington when the record was set, less might be familiar with the name of Jake Van who is the dirt guru in the Wilderness Circuit. Herman has worked with Van to not only come to the Circuit Finals and conduct a meeting with the rodeo committees but two years ago he put on a one-day clinic in Burley with five committees attending to get additional pointers on working the ground.

“Randy and Jake are two that really have a passion for ground and are like a hunter that wants to go get the biggest buck in the world. The WPRA is grateful for individuals who share this type of passion for rodeo ground,” stated Herman.

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