WPRA NEWS

Bittersweet Year Ends with Gold Buckle for Mowry

By Ann Bleiker

As they say, a dog is man’s best friend, well in the barrel racing industry horses are a girl’s best friend and Kassie Mowry couldn’t have asked for a better one to help her get through the most difficult time in her life.

Force the Goodbye, known as Jarvis, a 6-year-old gelding, was that best friend who won over the hearts of fans from coast to coast and earned Mowry her first WPRA World Championship. The duo finished the year with $457,809 earned at just 28 rodeos, including the Wrangler NFR.

            “Unbelievable and emotional,” said Mowry on how it felt to be the 2024 WPRA World Champion. “It was a really tough year for me. It was tough to leave my driveway in June. I almost didn’t. It was so hard to get through and so many times I wanted to go home but so many people helped me and supported me through this. It was so worth it. I am so proud, and I know Mike (the late Michael Boone, her fiancé) would be so proud.”

            It was definitely a bittersweet year for Mowry having lost her long-time partner in a freak accident the first part of June, but the horse they owned together, Jarvis, knew just what his jockey needed. He kept winning during the summer, keeping Mowry on the road.

            As a result, Jarvis, voted 2024 Nutrena Horse of the Year presented by AQHA, qualified for his second consecutive NFR, while Mowry was making her fifth overall appearance. During Jarvis’ first trip to the Thomas and Mack he won the eighth and ninth rounds, running the fastest time of the 2023 NFR during the eighth round in 13.30 seconds. At the time, Boone knew the horse had more to prove and, on their way home from the 2023 NFR, he told Mowry that Jarvis deserved another shot at the Thomas and Mack.

            He didn’t disappoint in year two and shocked the industry – including his jockey – by placing in eight out of 10 rounds. In fact, he won five in a row and placed second three other times including the last round, securing the gold buckle.

            “He is just a dream horse and there is not enough words to describe him,” said Mowry. “Most horses have strong suits and weaknesses. I am really good at being critical in finding a hole in a horse and I really have a hard time finding a hole in this horse. He likes any set-up and that is hard to find in a horse. He is just amazing.”

            In addition, Mowry tied a 40-year-old record for most consecutive round wins in WPRA history, matching Jimmie Munroe who won five rounds at the 1984 NFR on Smooth Cadet. Munroe’s wins came in the first five rounds while Mowry won rounds 4, 5, 6, 7 and shared the win in the eighth round. Mowry and Force The Goodbye now hold three of the five fastest times recorded inside the Thomas and Mack with a 13.19, 13.25 and 13.30 (from 2023) the other two are held by Hailey Kinsel and Sister, who finished as reserve world champs in 2024.

            Mowry also collected the RAM Top Gun award, winning more money at the NFR than any of the other 119 contestants with $295,526.

            “This is all so overwhelming, and I am just beside myself,” said Mowry, who also surpassed the $1 million mark in career earnings finishing the 2024 season with $1,272,416. “I just came in here with the goal to do the best we could and showcase this horse. I feel like he won over the hearts of everyone and that makes me feel so good.”

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