There's a lot that defines Barb West: Horse trainer, athlete, stunt woman, daughter, sister, friend, wife.

Now you can add national champion to that list.

Over Easter weekend, the British Columbia-born West and her trusty steed, Scottie Too Hottie, used consistency to maneuver into the championship round of the tournament format, then whisked around the cloverleaf pattern in 15.47 seconds to win the championship by a mere 1-100th of a second over Missourian Brianna Reynolds, the Great Lakes Circuit Rodeo average winner.

"I had a pretty good year," said West, the runner-up in the Columbia River Circuit's year-end standings. "I started in April and ended up 26th in the world, and I did it all staying pretty close to the Columbia River Circuit."

West earned her trip to Pocatello, Idaho, when Brenda Mays won both the year-end and average title, resulting in them going back to the year-end standings for their second DNCFR qualifier. The Oak Harbor, Wash., cowgirl made the most of her opportunity. She didn't earn a paycheck in either of the opening two go-rounds at Holt Arena but then won $7,720 over the weekend.

So how did West and Scottie get to the pinnacle of regional competition? Quite simply, it's a tale of a horse-crazy girl who has done virtually anything and everything to work with the animals she loves and is now chasing her rodeo dreams. Born Barbra Bartos in Vancouver, British Columbia, she was raised near Canada's Pacific coastline in an equine-friendly home.

"I always rode," said West, a three-time DNCFR qualifier. "I started running barrels and competing, when I was 4 years old. Everybody in my family was involved. I did Little Britches, then did a lot of amateur rodeos. I didn't have a chance to do high school and college rodeo growing up outside of Vancouver, but I always got to do some amateur rodeos every year."

When rodeo found its way out of West's forward vision, she found a pony club and competed in those using English equipment.

"I got to go on the Canadian National Team and ride in the United Kingdom," she said. "That got me ready, and I met the right people."

Those people helped her progress to her next step, a movie stunt woman, with a specialty on horse stunts - yeah, go figure. In fact, she's done several movies, including "Scary Movie 3," "Smallville," Robin of Locksley," "Dudley Do-Right," and "Freddy Got Fingered," to name a few. She's done it all, from falls to being a human torch - which she did during the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, "Replicant."

"I did that for 10 years, working stunts," said West, who is married to tie-down roper Brian West. "I worked in the industry full time, then in 1999, I watched Janet Stover ride in the NFR. I knew that's what I wanted to do.

"I bought a horse. I had a little money after working in the movies, and I filled my card in 2001. But I've always worked somewhere somehow. I did a million jobs until I was lucky enough to get into the movie business."

And her career on film isn't exactly over. She's working out the details of working on a movie later this year.

"Doing the horse stunts was the only thing I had ever done that I could keep my focus and not think about wanting to be running barrels," she said. "I like barrel racing better, but doing horse stunts is a very close second. It's nice to be able to do that, but I like competing for my money."

When she got back into the game earlier this decade, she purchased a thoroughbred, becoming one of the few jockeys who rodeo fulltime on that breed. Then a few years ago, she found Scottie, now a 14-year-old registered Paint Quarter Horse. With no special bloodlines, his pedigree includes being versatile in many disciplines.

"It took about a year for me to season him, but he picked it up pretty well," she said. "He's really fast, and that's a big plus. In 2005, he set the record in the circuit in most money won. We were the circuit champions that year. In '06, I was reserve, and in '07, we finished fourth."

But it hasn't all been wine and roses. In fact, Scottie came up lame late last season, and West didn't even run him at the circuit finals in Redmond, Ore.

"He had some inflammation problems in his feet, so I borrowed a horse for the circuit finals," West said. "I opted to give Scottie four months off. I just went to a couple of barrel races to get him tuned up for Pocatello. I thought he tried really hard, and I'm really excited about how he performed."

And though she's rarely ventured far from her home circuit in the northwest, she knows she's got a winner in Scottie. She also knows there's something special about being involved in rodeo.

"I just love the sport," she said. "I love my horses and being around them. When we were kids, we chose to rodeo because it was something we could do with our horses and make money.

"I like going fast. I like the people. I like riding. I like competing. I actually love sleeping in my trailer."

She also misses her friends when she's not on the rodeo trail.

"I love being able to go down the road and have the chance to win money," West said. "It's a great lifestyle."

It can also be somewhat lucrative, as she's learned over the few years. She's considered hauling Scottie to the big winter rodeos, especially since her top-50 finish in 2008 allowed her the opportunity.

"I would go south for the winter," she said. "I would've gone this year if he'd been sound. I do hope to qualify for the big rodeos next year, too."

She's going to need help, and she's got plenty of support. Besides Scottie and hubby Brian, she's worked in a couple of sponsorships that help defray some of the costs that come with traveling the rugged rodeo trail: Western Utility and Excavation and Sequoia Custom Homes.

"Really, without them, I don't know if I can do what I've done," West said. "They've really helped me a lot over the last three years."

The past half decade has been a special run for West as she competes full time. Last year, for example, she won the rodeo in Cheney, Wash., and got into the field for the Caldwell, Idaho, Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Ariat Playoff. There, like in Pocatello, she competed in the four-round, which earned her a trip to Puyallup, Wash., and the second of five rounds.

"I wasn't in the top 100 in points, but I entered Caldwell anyway," she said. "I got in, then finished second overall. Actually, I was kind of the Second Queen all year; I finished second at a few rodeos, but I still ended up with a decent amount of money for just rodeoing in the circuit."

She knows how to interpret scripts that become blockbusters. She knows what it's like to be set on fire.

Now, she'd like to do the same thing in the barrel racing world, setting a blazing standard and writing her own script, which, like any good Hollywood ending, concludes with her winning that coveted gold buckle.

"This is a dream, and I can't think of anything I'd rather do," West said. "I can't ask for anything better, to compete for a living, to hang out with my friends and to travel with my husband.