ProRodeo sporst News - October 15, 2021

HORSES OF THE YEAR BARREL RACING FAMOUS LIL JET “ROLLO” Owner : Jordon and Justin Briggs Rider : Jordon Briggs Key 2021 Accomplishments : Won Guymon Pioneer Days Ro- deo in Guymon, Okla., Dodge City (Kan.) Round-Up, Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo in Abilene, Kan., Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo, the Home of Champions Rodeo in Red Lodge, Mont., and Old Fort Days in Fort Smith, Ark. Why Horse is Great : Briggs picked Rollo out as a yearling and trained and campaigned him successfully in aged events. After her first Wrangler NFR in 2009, Briggs had focused exclusively on working with young horses, but Rollo’s talent and consis- tency encouraged her to rodeo again. Another run at the Wran- gler NFR in 2021 began with a share of the win in Guymon with reigning world champ Hailey Kinsel. Briggs had just returned from two months of non-weight bearing on a broken ankle and Rollo’s performance got her believing the pair could catch up and make a run for the Finals. Briggs finished the season ranked second in the world Standings thanks to the 7-year-old gelding who stands 15.1 hands and weighs 1,200 pounds. Hear it from Jordon : “He’s very consistent and seems to know not to hit a barrel. Ever since he was a futurity colt, I told my husband, if any horse deserves to go make 10 runs in that arena, it’s this horse . . . I just didn’t know if I’d be the one to take him or sell him to someone else to do it. But I knew I’d never be able to train another one like him so I just couldn’t make myself sell him. He means the world to my whole family. We all wake up to feed Rollo every day, he’s very special to all of us.”

Hailey Rae photo

BREAKAWAY ROPING NO WIMPY TURNS “ONNA”

Owner : Shelby Boisjoli Rider : Shelby Boisjoli

Key 2021 Accomplishments : Won ProRodeo Tour Finale in Salinas, Calif., Old Fort Days in Fort Smith, Ark., and Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte, Neb. Why the Horse is Great : Standing 14.3 hands and weighing 1,250 pounds, Onna started as a reining horse before Boisjoli purchased her two years ago. Boisjoli trained her for breakaway roping and rode the now 6-year-old mare to the bulk of her winnings in 2021, finishing first in th breakaway roping standings going into the National Finals Breakaway Roping in December. According to Boisjoli, Onna has all the elements of an outstand- ing breakaway horse: she scores good, runs hard, places the calves, and finishes it off with a hard stop. Hear it from Shelby : “She’s kind of the quirkiest horse but she’s also just a big teddy bear. She’s one of those horses who doesn’t like to do bad. She knows when she does bad and gets really upset about it. I just love her; she means the world to me, and I literally cherish every single run with her.”

Fernando Sam-Sin photo

ProRodeo Sports News 10/15/2021

ProRodeo.com

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