Rodeo Update

Making a Move

By Ann Bleiker

Barrel racer Andrea Busby was the talk of the WPRA over the weekend adding $15,456 with wins in Hermiston, Oregon and Logan, Utah. Busby of Millsap, Texas, was ranked 14th in the world but with the windfall weekend she has moved to 12th with $90,220 as she searches for her first Wrangler NFR.

Busby started her weekend with a big win at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo where she was 17.10 seconds to win over $8,806 and just edged Dona Kay Rule with a 17.12. She capped off her weekend with a win at the Cache County Fair and Rodeo after a 16.86-second run. The win earned her $6,650. She collected both wins on Jets Top Gun “Benny” that carried Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi to a record-breaking year in 2023 and currently sits No. 15 in 2024.

As she wrote on her Facebook page about Benny, “A great horse will change your life. The truly special ones define it. It’s a privilege, unlike any other, that God chose us to be his people.”

Busby is well known in the industry as she and husband, Jeff, own Busby Quarter Horses, which have bred and trained some of the best in the business. The timing in the past had never worked for Busby to make a push for herself to qualify for the Wrangler NFR but that all seems to be changing for 2024.

While the season didn’t begin as she had hoped, with Benny being sidelined with a keratoma in his foot during the winter months, the duo has been unstoppable since his return in early July picking up a check at every stop he has gotten the call.

“There are so many good horses out here now. The caliber from first to 50th is unbelievable. Anybody can win on any given day. Brittany said it and I agree, winning first is an accident,” Busby told SI Rodeo. “It certainly helps when you get lucky enough to be Benny’s person. All that said, there’s a lot of time between now and the end of September.”

She continued her streak at the pay window during the first round of the 100^th Caldwell (ID) Night Rodeo tying for second with Michelle Alley in a time of 17.14 seconds to add another $2,178 to her 2024 earnings. Kassie Mowry won the first round in a time of 17.01 adding $2,772 as she looks to add another NFR qualification to her resume. Mowry is currently ranked No. 5 after only attending 18 rodeos thus far.

It will be a horse race to the end so stay tuned.

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