By Ted Harbin

12/3/10 Just moments before she and An Okie With Cash sprinted down the alleyway toward the Thomas & Mack Center's arena, Lisa Lockhart wasn't sure what to think.

"In the warm-up, he was really nervous," Lockhart said of her 7-year-old buckskin gelding, Louie, who was making his first appearance at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Thursday night during the first go-round. "Coming down the alley, I was just thinking, 'Please see the first barrel.'"

After that, things went well. Lockhart, of Oelrichs, S.D., rounded the tiny cloverleaf pattern in 13.84 seconds to win on opening night in Las Vegas. She bettered second-place finisher, Nellie Williams of Cottonwood, Calif., by eight-100ths of a second and earned the top prize of the day, $17,512.

"He felt locked on, and it felt like it should've felt," she said. "He did his job."

That's bigger than you might imagine. Lockhart and her top horse, Fast An Gold, went down hard during a practice run earlier this week. A sore Lockhart said 12-year-old Chism is sorer. So she's leaning on her young horse.

"I guess I can't call him a backup now," she said with a grin. "He's really proven himself this fall."

While fast times were the theme, there were plenty of overturned barrels. Five ladies suffered at least five-second penalties, and seven barrels were knocked down on opening night. Lockhart powered through it to win her third go-round buckle in her four trips to the Wrangler NFR.

"You have to go after it with the level of horses here," she said. "It's just a life changing event to win a round here."

"Winning a round at the NFR … I don't think anybody can ever get used to it."

Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
Thomas and Mack Arena
Las Vegas, Nev.
Dec 02, 2010
Performance 1 of 10
Barrel Racing
1. Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 13.84 seconds, $17,512
2. Nellie Williams, Cottonwood, Calif., 13.92, $13,840
3. Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., 14.00, $10,451
4. Jill Moody, Letcher, S.D., 14.03, $7,344
5. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 14.05, $4,519
6. Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore., 14.09, $2,825
7. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, 14.21
8. Christina Richman, Glendora, Calif., 14.23
9. Benette Barrington, Lubbock, Texas, 14.25
10. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 14.30
11. Angie Meadors, Blanchard, Okla., 18.86
12. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta, 18.89
13. Sherrylynn Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 19.22
14. Kelli Tolbert, Hooper, Utah, 23.94
15. Jeanne Anderson, White City, Kan., 24.19