Sydni Blanchard, photo by Susan Kanode

Puyallup, Washington-From the outside looking in, it looked like Sydni Blanchard had a ton of pressure on her shoulders entering the Justin Boots Playoffs in Puyallup, Wash. The first of two tournament-style finale events that close out the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour and the ProRodeo regular season, Puyallup offers a lucrative purse, a chance for bubble cowgirls to get a jump on the final month of the season.

But Blanchard, who has become accustomed to the drama after finishing 15 and 16 in the last two seasons, actually felt no pressure at all despite entering the rodeo ranked 21st, nearly $9,000 behind the cut for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

"I had added it up and I knew I needed to dominate from here on out to make the Finals," says the New Mexico cowgirl who made her first Wrangler NFR back in 2010. "I just prayed about it and went from there."

"I treated it as practice runs, seasoning my mare for next year," she says. "Obviously, no one plans on winning every round at any rodeo."

But that's just exactly what the cowgirl did during three rounds in Main Grandstand Arena. Running in the first group on Friday, Blanchard set the bar high with a 14.98 second run in the opening round and a 15.01 during the second. She would sweep both rounds and average race, earning the maximum $4,000 for the long go's. More importantly, she qualified to the finals on Sunday, September 9, giving her the chance to double her money.

"It was a huge confidence boost [winning the opening rounds] but my game plan with this mare is just to get through the alleyway. After that, I don't think too much about the pattern," she laughs. Blanchard had been riding her buckskin gelding French Tigger for much of the season but the gelding began bucking during her runs and it was determined that he was sore and needed a rest.

"He did so good this year, he really accomplished a lot," says Blanchard, noting that she had felt a bit uneasy about making the stretch run without him. But going to her back-up horse is working out just fine.

"Pure Victory Dash is an eight year old mare that I have had about four years," Blanchard says. "I call her Twisted Sister because she can be crazy!"

Blanchard has been seasoning the mare slowly to the rodeos, just breaking her out into the outdoor arenas last month. Of course, the smaller confines in Puyallup suited her as well.

Running in the final go round against three time WPRA World Champ Sherry Cervi, multiple Wrangler NFR qualifier Brenda Mays and the red hot Kaley Bass, Blanchard knew she needed to lay down a good run.

"It was great! I was thinking, even second pays good," laughed Blanchard of the tough round. Despite nearly laying the second barrel over for a penalty, she and Twisted Sister pulled off another win, posting the rodeo's fastest run at 14.88 seconds. Amazingly, it was just one one-hundredth better than Cervi and Bass.

"I'm so proud of her," says Blanchard. "She is awesome, super fun to ride."

Blanchard tacked another $4,000 onto her season standings, bringing her perilously close to the top 15. She will tackle the indoor run in September and hope for a great month to put her into second Wrangler NFR.

She had high praise for the conditions in Puyallup, known in years past to be less than ideal.

"The ground was phenomenal. I wasn't going to enter but felt I had to because of the position I was in [in the standings]. A lot of girls don't enter because of the ground but it was great. They hand raked before every girl and really tried hard," Blanchard says.

Six WPRA barrel racers won money at the Justin Boots Playoffs: Blanchard, $8,000; Bass, $4,500; Cervi, $4,000; Mays, $2,500 each; Liz Combs and Christy Davidson, $500 each.

Justin Boots Playoffs
Puyallup, Wash., Sept. 7-9
First round: 1. Sydni Blanchard, 14.98 seconds, $2,000; 2. Sherry Cervi, 15.03, $1,500; 3. Kaley Bass, 15.06, $1,000; 4. Liz Combs, 15.22, $500. Second round: 1. Sydni Blanchard, 15.01 seconds, $2,000; 2. Brenda Mays, 15.04, $1,500; 3. Kaley Bass, 15.06, $1,000; 4. Christy Davidson, 15.10, $500. Average: 1. Sydni Blanchard, 29.99 seconds on two runs; 2. Kaley Bass, 30.12; 3. Sherry Cervi, 30.20; 4. Brenda Mays, 30.30. Final: 1. Sydni Blanchard, 14.88 seconds, $4,000; 2. (tie) Sherry Cervi and Kaley Bass, 14.89, $2,500 each; 4. Brenda Mays, 15.06, $1,000.

9/9/12 Puyallup, Washington-Sydni Blanchard seems to always be in the center of the drama.

In 2010 the New Mexico cowgirl eked into her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 15th by just about $2,000 after a brilliant season but struggles in the final two months. A year later, she blazed through the summer after missing half the year with injury, winding up on the wrong side of the WNFR bubble at 16th by only $3,400 despite amazing last minute heroics at the end of the season.

In 2012, Blanchard is at it again. She entered the Justin Boots Playoffs ranked 21st in the WPRA ProRodeo standings and hoping for a dramatic come-from-behind finish into the Wrangler NFR. The Playoffs are the first of two legs of the finals of the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour (WMDT) with the second event, the Justin Boots Championships, coming at Omaha, Neb., at the end of the month.

The top 24 competitors in the standings are invited to compete in Puyallup, home of the Playoffs and the Western Washington Fair. All competitors get two full rounds and, in the barrel race, the top four in the average on two runs advance to the finals on Sunday, September 9.

Because of her position in the standings, Blanchard drew the first set in Puyallup, competing Friday afternoon and evening. Historically, this has not been the best draw for the cowgirls in the WPRA barrel race but changes to the ground conditions made a year ago have changed the luck of the draw into a straight up running and turning contest.

Blanchard pulled out all the stops in pursuit of her second WNFR qualification. During the afternoon round she posted the rodeo's fastest time; her 14.98 second run was also the only sub-fifteen run during the rodeo's opening four performances.

Three-time World Champ Sherry Cervi made a run at Blanchard during her run on Saturday afternoon but settled for second with her 15.03. Kaley Bass, another Saturday runner, took third with her run of 15.06 while Liz Combs rounded out the money holes at 15.22 seconds. Combs ran Friday, making it an even split between the sets.

For Blanchard she needed more than the $2,000 she earned for winning the opening go, entering the event almost $9,000 behind 15th ranked Fallon Taylor, who did not enter Puyallup. Laying it all on the arena dirt at the Puyallup Main Grandstand, Blanchard posted a 15.01 in the second go to lead the average as the sun set on the first day of the Playoffs.

Twelve barrel racers including 10 of the current top 15 would test her times on Saturday but no one could break through including red-hot Bass, who won three Silver Tour stops on the WMDT in August alone. Sixth ranked, and home circuit cowgirl, Brenda Mays came closest in the round, posting a 15.04 for second while Bass took third with another 15.06. Christy Davidson, who moved into a qualifying position when other top ranked ladies chose not to enter, took advantage of the opportunity, winning the final money hole with her run of 15.10.

Blanchard's 29.99 seconds on two runs was .13 second better than Bass in the average. Cervi and Mays finished third and fourth, respectively.

For her first two runs, Blanchard has earned $4,000, almost half of what she needed to move into the top 15. The top four barrel racers have advanced to Sunday's finals, where all previous times are erased and competitors get one more run for the championship, sudden death. No one will win less than $1,000 but all four are eyeing the $4,000 check paid to the winner including Blanchard. Another win on Sunday, and the sweep of the Playoffs, would move her into striking distance of her second Wrangler NFR with still three weeks left in the 2012 regular season.

The finals begin at 1 PM on Sunday and will air via live webcast on www.prorodeolive.com beginning at 12:45 PM PT.

After two rounds at the Justin Boots Playoffs, six WPRA barrel racers have earned a check: Blanchard, $4,000; Bass, $2,000; Cervi/Mays, $1,500 each; Combs/Davidson, $500 each.

Justin Boots Playoffs
Puyallup, Wash., Sept. 7-9
First round: 1. Sydni Blanchard, 14.98 seconds, $2,000; 2. Sherry Cervi, 15.03, $1,500; 3. Kaley Bass, 15.06, $1,000; 4. Liz Combs, 15.22, $500. Second round: 1. Sydni Blanchard, 15.01 seconds, $2,000; 2. Brenda Mays, 15.04, $1,500; 3. Kaley Bass, 15.06, $1,000; 4. Christy Davidson, 15.10, $500. Average: 1. Sydni Blanchard, 29.99 seconds on two runs; 2. Kaley Bass, 30.12; 3. Sherry Cervi, 30.20; 4. Brenda Mays, 30.30.