Barrel Racer Turned Up The Heat in Rd. 8, Pozzi Tonozzi Clinches Third World Title

By Ann Bleiker

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Things got mighty fast tonight in the barrel racing during the eighth round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge in Las Vegas.

Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, the No. 1 ranked barrel racer, set the bar high laying down a 13.34-second run aboard Jets Top Gun “Benny” as the second barrel racer out on Thursday night. That was the fastest run of the 2023 edition until Kassie Mowry and Force The Goodbye “Jarvis” took to the cloverleaf pattern and stopped the clock in a time of 13.30 seconds.

            “It just happened so fast. I hardly remember any of it, but I was just in go mode. I laid the hammer down and he just delivered,” said Mowry minutes after her first victory lap at the Wrangler NFR. “He (Jarvis) has been handling it really well as this is just his third rodeo he has ever been to in his life. So, he is pretty green, but he acts like he is just at a regular barrel race.”

Mowry is making her fourth appearance at the NFR with qualifications in 2005, 2017, 2022 and now 2023. Mowry was shocked about the performance her 5-year-old gelding turned in.

            “He just went in there and shocked me with that performance,” continued Mowry. “I didn’t think there was a chance of beating Brittany’s time but wow. I never dreamed I would be here on a victory lap.”

            Pozzi Tonozzi with a second-place finish and Emily Beisel hitting a barrel during the eighth round has now clinched her third WPRA World Title. With two rounds left she has amassed over $427,657 in earnings.

            “It’s surreal right now,” said Pozzi Tonozzi about clinching a third world title. “I never thought a third was going to be in the cards for me. This is another dream come true.”

            Not only has she now blown the old season earnings record out of the water she is also gaining ground on becoming the overall career earnings record holder in the WPRA. Coming into the 2023 Wrangler NFR Sherry Cervi led the way with $3,388,790. Lisa Lockhart has gained ground and is now only $4,446 from surpassing Cervi on that list. Pozzi Tonozzi could surpass both of them depending on the value of the checks she picks up in the final two rounds. Her career earnings currently set at $3,279,319.

            Pozzi Tonozzi leads the average race with 108.98 seconds on eight runs and could very easily set a new average record at the NFR. The old record was set in 2021 by Jordon Briggs with a total time of 136.83 seconds. Pozzi Tonozzi is definitely not through rewriting the record books for 2023. It is now just a matter of how many and how much when all the final figures are tabulated. This would also mark her third NFR average title.

            “We are just going to keep our heads down and try to stay in the average and win as much money as possible,” stated Pozzi Tonozzi about her game plan for the final two rounds of the 2023 season.  

            Pozzi Tonozzi is currently second in the Ram Top Gun having won $157,094 thus far in Las Vegas. Bull rider Ky Hamilton leads the way with $160,313. One can bet that is also on her list of goals for 2023.

            Hailey Kinsel was the last WPRA member to have that dominate of a Finals when she became the first barrel racer to win the world, average, Top Gun and fast time award all in the same year. She accomplished that in 2020.

            Only two more rounds remain to vote for the Jerry Ann Taylor Best Dressed Award as this year’s winner will be announced before the final round on Saturday night. To vote visit www.wpra.com.

            Ninth round action gets underway, Friday, December 15 at 5:45 p.m. PT LIVE on the Cowboy Channel.

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Rd. 8 results: https://www.wpra.com/nfr-2023-results-thursday-december-14-2023/