DECEMBER 18, 2012 Volume 7 : Issue 50 In this issue... • Holiday Classic, pg 19 • Ropin & Ridin For Don, pg 22 • Tri-K Winter Barrel Blast, pg 23 • Mile-Hi, pg 26 fast horses, fast news • BFA Worlds Horse Sale, pg 27 Published Weekly Online at www.BarrelRacingReport.com - Since 2007 Flying With An Angels Wings - Mary Walker Wins The World By Tanya Randall Top Gun award; I When Mary Walker left her Ennis, Texas, home more than two could not believe 2012 WORLD STANDINGS weeks ago, headed to Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, that!” Unofficial - Courtesy of www.wpra.com she burst into tears. She said Round 1 Mary Walker $274,233.28 Everything was ready, but her son Reagon wasn’t in the truck. It 10 was her most 2 Carlee Pierce $204,321.83 was one of those bad moments that she’s experienced ever since emotional night of 3 Brittany Pozzi $194,224.22 losing her son in a car accident on April 23, 2011. the WNFR. 4 Lindsay Sears $190,061.63 She pulled herself together knowing Reagon was with her in “I thought 5 Lisa Lockhart $180,335.91 spirit. He is with her, always. that I would be 6 Kaley Bass $154,304.56 “I feel him,” said the newly crowned 2012 WPRA World Champi- emotional the first 7 Brenda Mays $137,748.48 on Barrel Racer. “I felt him this whole year. You have your bad days Grand Entry and 8 Sherry Cervi $130,263.05 and your good days, but he always made me smile at the end of the the first round, but 9 Nikki Steffes $110,279.25 day. I actually spent 21 years with him and enjoyed every minute of the 10th was the 10 Kelli Tolbert $109,324.15 it. I’m so glad to have had those 21 years. I know he is in Heaven, emotional one,” 11 Lee Ann Rust $103,843.82 and I know he is protecting us. I couldn’t have done it without she explained. Her 12 Benette Barrington-Little $92,638.43 him.” son’s best friend 13 Trula Churchill $84,629.46 Aboard the fleet-footed, big, brown barrel-racing machine and rodeo buddy, 14 Christina Richman $75,301.16 Perculatin, Walker jumped from third in the World to first with Tuff Copper, told 15 Christy Loflin $73,697.71 $274,233 in earnings. She broke Sherry Cervi’s NFR earnings record her since she had and captured the RAM Top Gun Award—a new truck for having her world title Total 2012 NFR Earnings the money won at this year’s Finals—with an impressive $146,941. that he was going Unofficial - Courtesy of www.wpra.com “After I won the pickup, they drove me around the arena and to have to win 1 Mary Walker $146,941.10 every one stood up for a standing ovation, Man, I was in tears,” said his too. Growing 2 Lisa Lockhart $107,874.59 Walker, 53. up, Copper and 3 Carlee Pierce $79,801.69 Walker started her WNFR experience with a bang, making three Reagon hoped to 4 Kaley Bass $68,022.84 straight trips to the South Point Hotel & Casino for a go-round win dual world 5 Brenda Mays $55,949.51 buckle. She made another trip for winning Round 7. She had one championships 6 Lindsay Sears $53,740.98 “oops” the entire WNFR in Round 4 when she got the second bar- as their fathers 7 Kelli Tolbert $45,643.03 rel. had. In 1981, Roy 8 Lee Ann Rust $42,256.61 “All year long I’ve made four or five runs and I’d hit a barrel,” Cooper won the 9 Sherry Cervi $37,201.51 she said. “My goal at the NFR was to make 10 clean runs. Well, the Calf Roping World 10 Benette Barrington-Little $24,244.79 fourth round, I failed at that. It was my fault. I should have never Championship and 11 Trula Churchill $23,852.17 hit that barrel. I thought if I could do six runs in a row without hit- Bryon Walker won 12 Nikki Steffes $23,557.69 ting a barrel, Bryon will finally get off my back!” the Steer Wrestling 13 Brittany Pozzi $23,263.22 As she moved up in the standings and average, the pressure to title. The two took 14 Christy Loflin $18,846.15 make clean runs grew. a picture and each 15 Christina Richman $14,429.09 “In Round 8, I knew I had to place,” she said. “I knew I had had a copy in their to go in and make a solid run. When Round 9 was over, I pretty house. When the younger Cooper and Walker won their respective much knew I had it won. I knew in Round 10, I just had to make a events at the Texas High School Finals Rodeo, they too took a pic- smooth run and make him do right. The 10th run, I safetied up a ture to memorialize the event. Their plan was to duplicate the feats whole lot. I tried to get him to all his spots. It wasn’t the prettiest of their fathers at the WNFR one day. run in the world, but it worked. Then they told me that I won the NFR Continued on Page 4 IN T H E News .......IN THE NEWS......in the news......In the News......In the News..... Reagon Walker Foundation Calendars Available Three of ProRodeo’s world champions from 2011 pulled off a repeat just one year later as steer wrestler Luke Branquinho won his Gold-buckle couple Byron and Mary Walker are selling calendars fourth gold buckle and bareback rider Kaycee Feild and tie-down to raise money for the Reagon Walker Foundation in honor of their Tuf Cooper each backed up their first. late son. The goal of the foundation is to provide college scholar- Branquinho had a steer fall on him in the week leading up to the ships to high school rodeo athletes. NFR, then couldn’t get down from his horse, taking a no-time in The 2013 Calendars feature the WPRA’s Top 15. Each barrel the very first round. racer donated a photo from their biggest win from the season. None of it mattered in the end as the Los Alamos, Calif., cowboy “I’m July since I won Calgary,” said Mary Walker. “Nikki Steffes cashed in seven of the final nine rounds, including a Round 4 vic- is January for winning Fort Worth. They’re not all barrel pictures tory, to win the world by $13,898 over Casey Martin. either. Benette Little’s is from Jackson, Miss. She’s running home Branquinho became the first bulldogger to successfully defend asking her horse for his life.” his world championship since Ote Berry in 1990-91 and joined The calendars available now will autographed by the newly Berry and Jim Bynum in second place all-time with four steer wres- crowned WPRA World Champion Mary Walker. The cost is $20. tling world titles. Checks can be made payable to and be sent to the Reagon Walker His hazer and friend Les Shepperson won the average with a Foundation, 1401 Crisp Rd., Ennis, TX 75519. total of 48.6 seconds on 10 head, rising from 11th to third over the course of 10 days. No cowboy in any event was more dominant in Las Vegas Corkill’s final-night comeback than Feild. The Payson, Utah, bareback rider placed in eight of 10 rounds, won at least a share of a first-place check in three and highlights dramatic WNFR finished with $276,850 in season earnings – topping Will Lowe by LAS VEGAS – Team ropers split the world championship. more than $56,000. The outcome simply wasn’t the one that appeared most likely. Bobby Mote, who finished third in the average and the world The possibility of a header from one team winning the world standings this year, was the last bareback rider to win back-to-back championship with a heeler from another partnership became more world championships in 2009-10. Feild’s father, Lewis, also accom- and more real as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo wore on, but plished the feat in 1985-86. in a final-round stunner, heeler Jade Corkill came from behind to Cooper joined his father in the club of cowboys who have suc- capture his first gold buckle along with Chad Masters, who won a cessfully defended world titles, as well. Roy Cooper won six gold world championship for the second time. buckles in tie-down roping, including everyone from 1980-1984. If the NFR had ended after nine rounds, a split championship After Justin Maass posted a 13.2-second run, Cooper knew a work- would have occurred between Masters and Patrick Smith. However, manlike run would help him capture another title, and his 7.9-sec- Driggers and Corkill put together a 4.0-second run that put the ond effort took second in the round and moved him to second in pressure on Masters and Clay O’Brien Cooper and Trevor Brazile the average. and Smith. Cooper finished with $232,885 in 2012, topping Maass by more Masters and Cooper roped their final-round steer in 5.2 seconds, than $35,000. good enough to place fifth in the round, and Driggers and Corkill’s Bull rider Cody Teel came to his first NFR atop the world stand- round-winning run held up when Brazile and Smith posted a time ings and he left in the same fashion, though he had to fight tooth of 10.0 seconds.