Four Time World Champions Kinsel & Sister Go Three for Three in the Thomas and Mack

The Hailey and Sister show continues in Las Vegas in another exciting round of barrel racing.

Nathan Meyer for Rodeo On SI

Coming into the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Hailey Kinsel had roughly $2.2 million in lifetime earnings, the lion's share of that coming from her partnership with DM Sissy Hayday "Sister." The duo have won about half of that money inside the Thomas and Mack - $1.1 million. The past three rounds have made it clear why they have won so much in this pen. Their winning streak continued tonight, as they pursue their fifth World Championship.

The pedigrees of all of these incredible horses can be found here.

The Good

Kinsel and Sis notched their third consecutive go-round win tonight, with a 13.48 - the exact same time they won the round with last night. Kinsel noted in her interview that their time was the same, but the run was a little different, "She (Sister) was really honest tonight. She was a little tight last night, but she felt really great tonight."

"It's so tough for these horses to come here, you want to be as spot on and prepared as you can, but nothing prepares you for the Thomas and Mack," she remarked regarding how the barrel racers have to run right into the giant LED screen, amongst other distractions in the T&M.

Kassie Mowry and Jarvis were last out on the ground tonight, but I can see this duo getting dialed in - they had a clean run tonight and a 13.58 good for second place. They ran some of the fastest times we saw in 2023 in the T&M, so I anticipate they will get even faster. Tiany and MicGuyVer have been rock solid in this setup so far, placing again tonight. Latricia and Vanilla Wafer had their best run yet, with a 13.67 for their first check of the week.

I LOVE how these rookies are showing up in 2024 - Andrea Busby is 3/3 on round checks aboard Benny. Ashley Castleberry and Sky and Abby Phillips and Andi Anderson kept it clean, both teams just out of the money tonight.

It was great to see Leslie Smalygo and Gus back strong after last night, pulling a check with a 13.84.

The Bad and The Ugly

It was a tough night in terms of keeping them all three standing.

A downed first barrel, despite Emily Beisel doing everything she could to stand it back up, left the cowgirl and Chongo with a +5 on their 13.55 second run. Lisa Lockhart had a horse change, making her first run in the T&M aboard Blazin Ta Betty, "Sasha." I thought they looked great in this tough setup, but caught the second barrel for a +5 on their 13.70.

Dona Kay Rule was making a great run on Valor, but took down the third barrel. The first barrel caught Wenda Johnson and Mo for a speeding ticket as well. Carlee Otero and Sly were back after a nasty trip last night, but caught a +5 at the first. Shelley Morgan made a horse change, hopping on Bucky Wonder Horse, "Bee." They looked great in this pen, but caught the first barrel coming into it to add five seconds to their 13.82.

The Ground

We heard reports in the pre-shows today that Randy Spraggins and the crew literally, on the ground, are working with the girls, taking their thoughts into consideration and trying to improve the ground each night. With Spraggins on the job, we know he will be dilligent about this crucial factor to the World Championship race.

Round Three

1. Hailey Kinsel / 13.48 / $33,687.18
2. Kassie Mowry / 13.58 / $26,623.74
3/4. Tiany Schuster / 13.65 / $17,115.26
3/4. Andrea Busby / 13.65 / $17,115.26
5. LaTricia Duke / 13.67 / $8,693.47
6. Leslie Smalygo / 13.84 / $5,433.42