Buckeye, Ariz.--Sue Smith almost had the biggest weekend of any WPRA barrel racer in the nation. That's no small feat when you figure that she was not in Denver at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, one of the biggest rodeos of the year which concluded its run on Sunday, Jan. 24.

In fact, Smith was not at a rodeo at all. Instead, Smith chose to load her Wrangler National Finals Rodeo horse Real Claim to Fame and her outstanding futurity prospect Daisy Duke Dash-both sired by the legendary Dash ta Fame--and compete at the Pac West sanctioned Under the Big Top Race and Ringmaster Futurity held in Buckeye, Ariz. The event was co-sanctioned with the WPRA.

It was a fantastic decision. Smith and Daisy swept both rounds and the average of the futurity for $3,997 in winnings while Claimer won first and fourth in the open for $5,000. Since Smith carried Daisy's futurity times over to the open, she took home another $3,100 for first and 16th in the 2D. All totaled, Smith stuffed $12,097 in her Wranglers. By contrast, Denver's winner Brittany Pozzi won $12,391.

"It was a fun weekend," Smith laughs, "especially considering the weather outside."

The central Arizona town of Buckeye was right in the midst of one of the biggest storms to hit the state in many years. Flooding and tornado watches ravaged the state for three days prior to the start of the race. In fact, the parking lot at the Buckeye Equestrian Center (BEC) looked like a lake. Luckily, the main arena is covered.

The Under the Big Top race was a guaranteed payout with five sessions of barrel racers all running at one big payout and contestants allowed to enter the same horse up to five times. Smith and Claimer set the bar high on the opening day, running a 16.695-second run on the WPRA standard pattern. Fast times are the norm around the BEC - in all, 11 competitors clocked better than 17 flat during the weekend, among them Wrangler NFR qualifiers Sherry Cervi and Stingray, Brenda Mays and Jethro, and Smith and Claimer again, this time at 16.811.

"I don't know what I would have done differently," Smith says of the 16.695. "He felt on and it was just one of those runs."

The Ringmaster Futurity saw its share of fast times as well. Smith and Daisy split the opening round with Bo Hill and her Dash ta Fame colt, called Phame. They clocked identical 17.279s. In round two, Daisy won the round at 17.201. Her two run total was two tenths faster than Hill and Phame, who finished second.

"We raised Daisy," Smith explains of her 4-year old filly, "which makes it even more exciting to see how well she is doing." Daisy is out of former barrel racing mare which Smith bought after the mare's career was over. She and her fiancé have raised several babies out of her, including another Dash ta Fame who is younger than Daisy.

"I am very happy with her," Smith says. "She won the futurity over New Year's (also in Buckeye) and placed pretty good at the Greg Olson Memorial last weekend. She still runs a little green but she's doing great."

The only money Smith didn't get was the Pro Elite Sire Incentive (PESI) bonus money up for grabs for both the open race and futurity in Buckeye. Smith has yet to nominate her horses after Dash ta Fame was enrolled at the end of 2009.

Top honors for the PESI went to Hill and Phame. Hill is both rider and owner of the DTF gelding and collected $696 for the win. Breeder Sally Kidd earned $116 and Bob Burt, owner of DTF, received a check worth $348. Dash ta Fames won four of the six monies in the PESI bonus with the other two going to progreny of Frenchmasn Guy. A total of $4,000 was paid to eligible PESI horses for the futurity. For more information on the PESI program, visit www.wpra.com/pesi.asp.

Even without the PESI money, Smith has plenty of cushion now to take her down the road. She will compete at the third leg of the Arizona Triple Crown, the Beth Cooper Memorial Futurity, this weekend before heading for Texas. She runs at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo on Monday, Feb. 1.

"This trip to Arizona was supposed to be like a mini vacation before we go to Texas," Smith laughs. Despite the rains, life was sunny for Smith on this vacation.