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Cervi
Cruises to Round 7 Victory and a Little Closer to
her Third World Title
By Ted Harbin
12/9/10PC Frenchmans Hayday stands
by himself for a few hours each evening. He's in
Las Vegas, and he's ready to run.
But 15-year-old Dinero probably won't get that chance
at this year's Wrangler National Finals Rodeo because
his daughter, MP Meter My Hay, is doing just fine.
Over the first seven rounds of this year's championship,
Stingray has guided Sherry Cervi to the pay window
five times, including two round victories.
The second came Wednesday night, when the pair rounded
the cloverleaf pattern in 13.70 seconds, three-hundredths
of a second ahead of Lindsay Sears, who finished
in second place.
"If she keeps running like that, it'll be pretty
hard to run Dinero," said Cervi of Marana,
Ariz.
No doubt.
Cervi and Stingray are one of just three teams to
have a cumulative time of less than 100 seconds
on seven runs, posting the third best time in the
average at 97.19. Jill Moody of Letcher, S.D., leads
the aggregate with 97.04, followed by Lisa Lockhart's
97.12.
"It's been a really great barrel racing this
week," Cervi said. "At any time, anybody
can win a round here."
It helps to have Stingray.
"She's not very big, but her legs go really
fast," said Cervi, who has earned $58,750 at
the Wrangler NFR and $238,602 in 2010. "In
barrel racing, it's all about your horse. I'm grateful
to be able to ride her."
Cervi isn't the only cowgirl to have a great finale
so far. Lockhart, of Oelrichs, S.D., has earned
more than $68,000 and has placed in all but one
go-round - she failed to place in the third round.
Lockhart posted a 13.93 to finish third, but Moody's
14.19-second run marked just the second time this
week she didn't collect a check. Still, Moody's
won more than $59,000 in seven days.
"I've been trying to win every night, but there's
15 tough horses here," Cervi said. "There's
pressure because I want to win $17,000 ($17,512)
every night. I want to win as much money as I can."
Cervi, whose Tuesday night check pushed her past
the $2 million mark in career earnings, was asked
what will it take to help the sport grow so contestants
can earn that kind of money a lot sooner.
"Rodeo's a hard sport, because you can't just
buy a horse at Walmart," Cervi said. "We
need sponsors, and to get sponsors, we need to get
more people interested so that the sponsors are
getting their money's worth."
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WPRA wishes to thank our generous sponsors and
asks you to please checkout their websites and
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The Women’s Pro Rodeo Association | 431 South Cascade | Colorado Springs, CO 80903 | (719) 447-4627 | (719) 447-4631 (fax)
12/9/10
