Caldwell, Idaho-Nancy Hunter went to the Caldwell Night Rodeo back in 2008 and swore she would never go again. Her horse, Flit N Fizz or Fuzz as he is known around the barn, had trouble that year with the set-up in Caldwell. Barrel racers enter through a corner gate and must work their way down the bucking chutes to get the right angle to the first barrel.

"It was a train wreck," laughs Hunter, who makes her home in Neola, Utah. "He reared like four times and we literally scattered the bull riders."

Though she would win the Wilderness Circuit title that same year, Hunter vowed never to return. But when the entries opened for the 2010 edition, Hunter decided to enter up. Her decision was prompted by a good showing this spring and summer with a 6-year old grey horse that her husband Fred has trained like he did Fuzz.

"Then we sold the grey horse and I was back to Fuzz," she says. "Right up until the end I said I was just going to turn out, even though it is a good rodeo for our circuit."

It was the trainer who encouraged Hunter to take the now 10-year old gelding for another try. "Fred said, I have a plan," she says.

The plan was to come from the gate and move over just a little. Hunter says she decided it could work because the horse is so broke.

Hunter posted a 17.48 to win the opening round in slack and came back for her second that same day. With Fred's plan in effect, Hunter and Fuzz posted what would be the rodeo's second fastest time, a 17.21, to win the second go as well.

"I thought I was going to die, it was like 115 degrees and I kept pouring water on my head and on my horse," says Hunter. Despite the heat, the former circuit champs were well in control of the average as the short go approached.

"We just angled to it a bit and it worked really well," Hunter says of the first barrel in the two opening rounds. "For the short go, I got to thinking that the third time would definitely not be a charm." Again, Fred stepped in to assure Hunter that her champion would not let her down. Despite the gelding "freezing up a little at the crowd and all the people," Hunter equaled her first round time of 17.48 seconds.

When the average was all totaled up, Hunter's 52.17 was nearly two-tenths faster than reserve champion Kelli Tolbert. Her checks totaled $6,605 to Tolbert's $5,273, leaving the two Utah cowgirls 1-2 in the current Wilderness Circuit standings with the season winding down. Tolbert actually leads the way in the standings with Hunter in second.

"The short round was so tough and I wasn't sure if my time was enough to win," Hunter says. "I was real glad it worked out, it's always fun to do."

After a busy 2009 with a win at the National Western Stock Show in Denver and a finish at 20th in the NFR standings, Hunter has taken 2010 much slower, staying closer to her circuit after spending some time at the big winter rodeos.

"Fred has a barn full of horses to train and I am working," Hunter, a registered nurse, explains the decision to slow the rodeo schedule down. "I have been riding the 6-year old and picking and choosing my rodeos for Fuzz."

Still, Hunter says it has been her horse's best summer. "He's been real fast everywhere, we ran 17.0's on standard patterns at Heber, Logan, and Vernal and bumped some barrels to win at other places."

Rodeo is a family affair for Hunter as well. Her two oldest boys rope at the circuit rodeos, another recently quit bareback riding and plans to take up roping, and youngest, Kolton, is planning on joining them once he returns from a church mission. "He is my cancer kid," says Hunter of the youngest, who battled cancer 10 years ago. "Life takes on another perspective once you've gone through that. Anything, absolutely anything is better than sitting in that hospital room."

"I think the experience made me a better person and a better nurse. And it sure makes barrel racing more fun because you remember that it is a fleeting thing. The wins are good but even when you don't win, you still had a good time just because you were there."

For more information on the Caldwell Night Rodeo, visit them on-line at www.caldwellnightrodeo.com.