(PRCA media release)
SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio rodeo fans got to see a barrel racing run that was one for the record books on Wednesday night.
Hailey Kinsel, from Cotulla, Texas, has won a check every time that she and her great mare DM Sissy Hayday have entered the AT&T Center. They had a clean sweep of Bracket 1, started the Semifinals as high money winners and ended them that way. Kinsel and her seven-year-old palomino mare that she calls Sister won $7,134 in their bracket. Then a third-place check in the first round of the Semifinals got her an additional $2,230.
Kinsel and Sister were the second barrel racers to compete in the AT&T Center on Wednesday night. They made a nearly flawless run, stopped the clock in 13.60 seconds to set a new arena record. The previous record of 13.67 seconds was set by Sydni Blanchard in 2013.
“I grew up coming to this rodeo,” Kinsel said. “We always bought tickets and it was a dream to just compete here. I felt like we had a pretty snappy run, but to set an arena record here, that’s pretty special.”
The Texas A&M graduate is the reigning National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association champion. She graduated last May, competed at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming in June and went on to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) last December where she finished the year as the reserve world champion.
They own two arena records now, one set in Las Vegas where they were running for their first gold buckle and now one here. Kinsel has won $13,823 here so far. She and Sister will spend the next two days at home resting and getting ready for Saturday night’s Finals.
It’s no surprise that the big money winner at this year’s San Antonio Rodeo is in the bull riding. Sage Kimzey, from Strong City, Oklahoma, has won this rodeo twice in the last four years. He’s on track to add one more title to his rodeo resume. Kimzey entered the Semifinals with over $12,000. He added to that placing in both rounds and has a total of $17,502. Four places are paid in all the events. During the preliminary competition, Kimzey was the only one to ride a bull once and one of two another night, so more prize money was up for grabs.
Jacob Schoffner from Jasper, Texas, wasn’t on the contestant roster at San Antonio when the rodeo started. Then another contestants misfortune turned into Schoffner’s fortune. When Jason Thomas from Benton, Arkansas was unable to compete because of a broken arm, Schoffner got the call that he was next in line to compete.
He has taken advantage of every opportunity. He entered the Semifinals with just under $3,000 in earnings. He had ground to make up and did that in a big way winning both rounds of the Semifinals. Each of those was worth $4,459. He now is at the top of the leaderboard in the steer wrestling with total earnings of $11,891. A win here could propel him to his first NFR next December.
Semifinals 2 will start at 7 p.m., Thursday night and will continue Friday. The competition is building up to Saturday night’s finals where champions will be crowned and the bulk of the $1.7 million in cash will be distributed.
Semifinal 1, round 2, followed by final round qualifiers –
Seventeenth performance
Bareback Riding: 1, Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 85.5 points Harry Vold’s Spicy Chicken, $4,459. 2, (tie) Steven Dent,Mullen, Neb., and Jake Brown , Cleveland, Texas, 83, $2,787 each. 4, (tie) Richie Champion, The Woodlands, Texas; Steven Peeples, Redmond, Ore.; and Clint Laye, Pocatello, Idaho, 80, $372 each. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Lowe, $11,370. 2, Champion, $7,952. 3, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., $7,580. 4, Brown, $7,543. 5, Dent, $5,760.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Jacob Schofner, Jasper, Texas, 3.6 seconds, $4,459. 2, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 3.9, $3,355. 3, (tie) Will Lummus, West Point, Miss., and Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas, 4.0, $1,672 each.(Finals qualifiers) 1, Schofner, $11,891. 2, Cole Edge, Durant, Okla., $8,695. 3, Irwin, $6,020. 4, Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas, $5,574. 5, Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho, $5,202.
Team Roping: 1, (tie) Bubba Buckaloo, Kingston, Okla., and Joseph Harrison, Overbrook, Okla.; and Cory Kidd, Statesville, N.C., and Cole Davidson, Stephenville, Texas, 4.4 seconds, $3,902 each. 3, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, 4.9, $2,230. 4, Aaron Macy, Post, Texas, and Wyatt Cox, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 5.2, $1,115 (Finals qualifiers) 1, Kidd and Davidson, $9,029. 2, Buckaloo and Harrison, $8,658. 3, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, $8,621. 4, Snow and Thorp, $6,911. 5, Macy and Cox, $6,317.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 88 points on Cervi Championship’s Hit Man, $4,459. 2, Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, 85.5, $3,344. 3, Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 84.5, $2,230. 4, (tie) Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, and Wade Sundell, Boxholm, Iowa, 84, $557 each. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Crawley, $12,560. 2, Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, $10,107. 3, Sundell, 9,921. 4, Boore, $8,101. 5, Cort Scheer, Douglas, Wyo., $5,351.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 7.5 seconds, $4,459. 2, Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas, 8.0, $3,344. 3, Blane Cox, Cameron, Texas, 8.1, $2,230. 4, Randall Carlisle, Athens, La., 8.4, $1,115. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Solomon, $12,114. 2, Cooper, $10,739. 3, Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., $6,280. 4, Carlisle, $5,871. 5, Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, Calif., $5,351.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 13.60 seconds, $4,459. 2, Kelly Bruner, Millsap, Texas, 13.95, $3,344. 3, Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, 14.08, $2,230. 4, Jessie Telford, Caldwell, Idaho, 14.13, $1,115. (finals qualifiers) 1, Kinsel, $13,823. 2, Bruner, $9,067. 3, Richardson, $8,769. 4, Telford, $7,952. 5, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, $4,682.
Bull Riding: 1, Parker Breding, Edgar, Mont., 86.5 points on D&H Cattle’s Olaf, $4,459. 2, Ruger Piva, Challis, Idaho, 85, $3,344. 3,(tie) Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho, and Sage Steele Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 84.5, $1,672 each. (finals qualifiers) 1, Kimzey, $17,502. 2, Breding, $11,891. 3, Piva, $10,033. 4, Sellars, $6,466. 5, Portenier, $5,537.
