The American Rodeo Barrel Racing: Who’s Chasing the $1M and What Invitees Will They Have to Outrun to Get There?

The American Barrel Racing brings the fastest horses and best jockeys in the industry. From World Champions to multi-million-dollar futurity trainers and even high school competitors, the barrel racing at The American is anyone’s for the taking.

Click Thompson, courtesy of The American

The American Rodeo and its contender tournament is designed to give anyone a shot at huge prize money and the opportunity to run at a place like Globe Life Field in front of thousands of fans. Whether you haul all year around to make the NFR, train futurity horses for a living, have a 9-5, or even still go to school every day, The American gives everyone with a fast horse a chance. 

Take a look at the top five invitees based on the 2023 World Standings, who battled their way through the Contender tournaments for their chance at the ultimate $1 million prize. See who’s riding what horse and take your picks on who will be taking home top honors on Saturday night. 

L-R: Lisa Lockhart, Jordan Briggs, Emily Beisel, Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, Kassie Mowry

Invitees

• Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi — Tonozzi needs no introduction; with 17 NFR qualifications and just recently tacking on another World Championship to her resume in 2023, she is a dominant force in the Futurity and Rodeo scene. Coming off of a storybook year in 2023, Tonozzi only continues to keep up with her winning ways and has an arsenal of horses to choose from for her runs at The American. Futurity and Derby standout Jets Top Gun, who recently has been lighting up the rodeo scene, is usually her go-to for large events like this, but between her own string of horses and Busby Quarter Horses keeping her mounted, she could surprise us with a change in horses.

• Lisa Lockhart — Lockhart is another cowgirl who needs no introduction when it comes to barrel racing. Between her 17 NFR Qualifications and recently becoming the WPRA all-time career earnings leader, she is a force to be reckoned with. Last year, she left Globe Life Field with top honors at The American for the third time since the rodeos started in 2014. She rode Promise Me Fame Guys, a 2016 gelding by Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet who has proven to be following in Lockhart’s great horse Louie’s footsteps on his way to greatness. Recently, coming off of a Super Series win in Houston, we look to see her defending her title in a huge way.

• Kassie Mowry — Mowry is arguably the winningest Futurity trainer of all time. She came into the 2023 NFR No.6 in the World Standings after only attending 28 rodeos in the regular season. Mowry has a string of incredible futurity standout horses turned rodeo athletes, and she is coming off a back-to-back win at the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo to use as momentum. Mowry is the true definition of a winner in the barrel racing arena and will be a tough one to outrun.

• Jordan Briggs — As the daughter of a World Champion, Briggs was destined for greatness from the start. She gained her first World Championship and NFR Average title in 2021 aboard her great Dash Ta Fame gelding Famous Lil Jet. The two continue to win consistently, and you can count on them to make the same run every time. The sorrel gelding who came up through Briggs’ training program is deceivingly fast and is guaranteed to shut the clock off.

• Emily Beisel — The queen of the leg lift by way of Weatherford, Okla. combines athleticism with fast horses to get to the winners circle on more occasions than not. Based on last year’s setup for Globe Life, this looks to be a promising setup for her big grey horse she calls Chongo or Namgis D 33, but her great mare Liza or Ivory on Fire has been carrying her to the win quite a bit lately. You can count on Beisel and her horses to make tight turns and turn in fast times, no matter the setup or conditions, and she does everything it takes to keep the barrels up. 

L-R: Emma Parr, Mindy Holloway, Kathy Grimes, Brandon Cullins, Rylee Jo Maryman

Contenders

• Brandon Cullins — Cullins is a dominant force in the futurity and derby scene and rides one of the best horses the sport has seen. MJ Segers Fast Lane is a 2017 mare by The Goodbye Lane who not only carried Brandon to the win at the contender tournament finals in Abilene but has also been crowned with multiple futurity and derby championships and even holds the arena record at the Pink Buckle Barrel Race with a 16.5-second run on a standard pattern. This is Cullins's 5th appearance at The American Rodeo, all made possible by way of the qualifying rounds.

• Kathy Grimes — As an NFR Qualifier, Grimes is no stranger to the big show and has made an appearance at The American in years past. This time, she jockeys KG Jukebox Hero, a home-raised 2017 Bay Stallion by Blazin Jetolena. Grimes is a career breeder and trainer and prides herself on the incredible string of mare power she has accumulated over the years. Ironically enough, the Bay Stallions Dam is the horse that carried Grimes to the American in 2018. With a second-place finish at the Abilene Contender Tournament Finals, she is gunning to keep the momentum rolling into Globe Life Field.

• Mindy Holloway — Holloway and her gelding Heavens Got Credit by JL Dash Ta Heaven are celebrities within the North Texas barrel racing community. The big sorrel gelding has carried the career Real Estate Agent to multiple slot race wins and pro rodeo placings in their time together. With the help of Smuggling Doubles, a gelding owned by Holloway's family friend Tammy Rokus, the two geldings carried her to the big show in Arlington. Holloway will likely jockey her trusty gelding, affectionately referred to as Cornbread, for the chance at the $1 Million prize, and the big sorrel gelding always delivers when the stakes are high.

• Emma Parr — Young talent Emma Parr jockeyed the big grey gelding DG Excuse My French to a top finish in Abilene, worthy of her first spot at the American Rodeo. The 18-year-old from Greensboro, Ala., battled her way through the cutthroat competition to have a chance at life-changing prize money, and the long-time partnership between horse and rider will prove to be an advantage on a stage such as Globe Life Field.

• Rylee Jo Maryman — This 16-year-old cowgirl from Louisiana is one of the youngest competitors we will see on Saturday, but she is just as tough as the rest. Her red roan mare, One Cupa Tees Sis, proves that cow-bred horses have a place in this lightning-fast sport and boasts a unique roll-back style turn that allows them to be in and out in a flash. This longtime team boasts many super show accolades and won the average at the East Regional finals, running one of the fastest times of the weekend in Lexington, Ky., sending them to Abilene, where they continued to dominate and earn themselves a spot on rodeo's biggest stage.