Big money wins like the one Tana Poppino of Big Cabin, Okla., pulled off at the legendary 2010 Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo are the fabric from which trips to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas are cut. Added to the $6,318 she already had to her credit before Fort Worth, the $14,468 Fort Worth bonanza puts her roughly one-third of the way toward her third NFR qualification.

Riding her 8-year-old gelding Doc Hickorys Cross, nicknamed Goose, Poppino picked up a $2,600 check from the first go round at Fort Worth for splitting 4th and 5th with 2007 WPRA World Champion Kay Blandford of Sutherland Springs, Texas. Both former NFR qualifiers clocked a time of 16.99 seconds. Running the fastest time of the rodeo in the second round paid Poppino $4,747 for her textbook perfect run of 16.73 seconds. Going into the final round on Super Bowl Sunday night with a total of 33.72 on two runs, Poppino held a commanding four-tenths of a second lead over the other 11 WPRA barrel racers who advanced to the Finals.

Running from slowest to fastest on two runs, Poppino was the last to run. A serious slip at the first barrel, under most circumstances, could have cost her the rodeo but the four-tenths lead served her well.

"When Goose slipped, I knew it had cost us time but I thought about the lead we had and went on and rode like nothing had happened," said Poppino. "He recovered really well and I was very happy when they called out a 17.49."

With a total on three runs of 51.21, Poppino still managed to win the average by two-tenths of a second and pocket the huge $7,121 average paycheck. Sabrina Ketcham of Yeso, N.M., climbed from fourth to second in the average after placing fourth in the final round. With checks from Fort Worth totaling $11,277, Ketcham and her flashy sorrel mare might bear close watching as a good pick for a new name in the top 15 by year's end.

"It's so awesome to win here," said Poppino, who several years ago left her full-time paying job as a corporate marketing executive to chase her barrel racing dreams. "This is one of the big major rodeos. It's awesome that they opened the barrel race up and they are letting all of us come compete here. It made a difference in the prize money and gave us all an opportunity."

Borrowed horses were a good move for at least two of WPRA's super stars. Sherrylynn Johnson topped the first go round riding Tennessee's April Trusty's bay gelding Leading Tradition. Angie Meadors topped the Fort Worth final round riding the 7-year-old gray mare Mulberry Canyon Moon owned by Matt and Bendi Dunn of Bismark, Mo. Meadors, who has recently switched the mare to the left barrel first, went into the final round in 10th place and advanced to fifth in the average after clocking the fastest time of the final round with a 17.03-second run. Meador's checks from Fort Worth totaled $6,907.

"I'm really proud of my horse," said Fort Worth champion Tana Poppino, who is serving her first term as Prairie Circuit Director on the WPRA Board. "I think Goose has finally grown up and is beginning to get solid. Last year we had one good run here and won the second go, this year all of his runs were good. I'm hopeful that he has become a real rodeo horse. God has blessed me with two great horses and I'm grateful to have them both sound and working good starting out the new year."

Staff writer Alex Branch of the Fort Worth Star Telegram must have had a hunch early on that Poppino was going to be a standout at Fort Worth this year. In the Thursday, Feb. 4 edition of the famed Fort Worth daily newspaper a feature article appeared with a color photo of Poppino and Goose turning a barrel with the headline reading "Chasing After Her Racing Dream." She fulfilled just that three days later.

Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
Jan. 22-Feb. 7

First round: 1. Sherrylynn Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 16.95 seconds, $4,747; 2. (tie) Danyelle Campbell, Beaumont, Calif., and Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore., 16.98, $3,730 each; 4. (tie) Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., and Kay Blandford, Sutherland Springs, Texas, 16.99, $2,600 each; 6. Jill Moody, Letcher, S.D., 17.01, $1,809; 7. Sabrina Ketcham, Yeso, N.M., 17.10, $1,356; 8. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta, 17.12, $904; 9. Lacy Wilson, Artesia, N.M., 17.14, $678; 10. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, 17.18, $452. Second round: 1, Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 16.73 seconds, $4,747; 2. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 16.91, $4,069; 3. Lacy Wilson, Artesia, N.M., 17.08, $3,391; 4. Sabrina Ketcham, Yeso, N.M., 17.10, $2,939; 5. Annesa Self, Valley View, Texas, 17.14, $2,261; 6. Danyelle Campbell, Beaumont, Calif., 17.19, $1,809; 7. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 17.24, $1,356; 8. Brooke Catalani, San Antonio, Texas, 17.25, $904; 9. Jill Moody, Letcher, S.D., $678; 10. Benette Barrington, Lubbock, Texas, 17.32, $452. Final Round: 1. Angie Meadors, Blanchard, Okla., 17.03 seconds, $3,517; 2. Brooke Catalani, San Antonio, Texas, 17.16, $ 2,637; 3. Andrea Bruch, Brock, Texas, 17.24, $1,758; 4. Sabrina Ketcham, Yeso, N.M., 17.26, $879. Average: 1. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 51.21 seconds on three runs, $7,121; 2. Sabrina Ketcham, 51.46, $6,104; 3. Danyelle Campbell, Beaumont, Texas, 51.60, $5,086; 4. Lacy Wilson, Artesia, N.M., $4,408; 5. Angie Meadors, 51.67, $3,391; 6. Brooke Catalani, 51.74, $2,713; 7. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 51.88, $2,035; 8. Andrea Bruch, 51.93, $1,356; 9. Haley Thorne, Midlothian, Texas, 52.15, $1,017; 10. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 56.44, $678.