2024 NFR: Kassie Mowry battles Hailey Kinsel for barrel racing title | National Finals Rodeo | sport

After the first three days of the National Finals Rodeo, it seemed like the barrel racing world title might be a runaway.

Hailey Kinsel entered the NFR with the overall lead and got off to a great start by winning the first three rounds of the rodeo. The wins gave Kinsel a nearly $90,000 lead over Kassie Mowry in the standings.

But there was still a lot of rodeo to play and Mowry had plenty of money on hand to make up the deficit.

No one at NFR is on a hotter streak than Mowry. On Wednesday, she won her fourth consecutive track race at NFR with a time of 13.19 seconds, adding $33,687.18 in earnings.

Her run Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center was the fastest time achieved by a barrel racer at this year’s NFR, much to the surprise of Mowry and her horse “Jarvis.”

“The guys in the back told me what I was running and I about fell off the horse,” Mowry said after her win on Wednesday. “I just couldn’t believe it. I was still pulling him up. He wants to run so badly right now that he’s having a hard time even pulling himself up. This horse has been on it from the start. He feels good.”

Mowry’s four straight wins put her behind Kinsel by just over $7,000. The Dublin, Texas native has earned more than $197,996 in NFR earnings and ranks fourth overall. This is the average of all driver races at NFR and gives the top participants the chance to contribute more to their overall earnings.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Mowry said. “It is unimaginable what brought this horse here. I can’t even – it’s hard to put into words. I never expected that.”

“Give him a chance”

NFR may have been an afterthought for Mowry six months ago when the tragedy occurred. Mowry’s fiancé, Michael Boone, died in an accident in June.

The bond between Mowry and Jarvis was already close. It became even more special since Boone owned Jarvis. When Mowry and Boone left the NFR last year, she said Boone was looking forward to the next NFR to give Jarvis another chance to run.

“His wish was for me to bring this horse back here and give him a chance at 10 runs at NFR,” Mowry said.

As Mowry struggled through a “really tough year,” she continued to train extensively with Jarvis to get the 6-year-old horse ready to run on rodeo’s biggest stage.

“I made up my mind to get it done, to get him here,” Mowry said. “That was my goal, just to get him here so he could at least have a chance. I never thought about that. This horse just took it and ran with it when I got here.”

Mowry was faster in each round win, starting with a 13.43-second run in her first win on Sunday. Mowry’s aggressive approach during rounds and training throughout the day paid off.

“I knew he was a good horse, but to come out on top and kind of dominate, that’s hard for any horse these days,” Mowry said. “It’s so hard in barrel racing. You’re talking about hundredths of a second.”

Mowry worked with Jarvis since he was a child, training him to be a rodeo horse. While other barrel racers might buy a horse to run in NFR, Mowry said working with Jarvis from the start helped strengthen their bond.

“I witnessed his struggles and weaknesses. We worked on him,” Mowry said. “You turn those into strengths now and I think having that time and having him for that long is beneficial to me. “I’ve known everything he’s ever done.”

‘Do it’

By day, Mowry works as a horse trainer. She said she wasn’t worried about winning, but rather about training Jarvis and making him a better horse.

“I try not to overwhelm him and stay on that fine line where you ask as much as you think you’re going to get out of it and it’s still a good experience for them,” Mowry said. “I always have his best interests at heart, no matter what. It kind of looks like there’s a chance… and so much can happen.”

Mowry is aiming for her first barrel racing title. This year, Mowry entered the NFR standings fourth and has won nine events.

She didn’t have the best start to the NFR, hitting a barrel in her first run of the event and earning no earnings. But a week later, Mowry’s NFR could have a fairytale ending.

“After I hit the barrel on my first run, my friend told me to just do the laps. Just do it,” Mowry said. “This is what I have done and what I will continue to do. I’ll just try to be the best jockey I can.”

Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.