Hailey Kinsel
Hailey Kinsel, is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing and competes in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. She won the WPRA barrel-racing world championship in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022 at the National Finals Rodeo. She has also won the NFR Average title once in 2020. Kinsel and her horses have qualified for the NFR nine consecutive times in her years in professional rodeo from 2017 through 2025. She has been competing in rodeo since adolescence, winning awards through high school and college in both barrel racing and breakaway roping, as well as professional rodeo. Her horse, Sister, won the Barrel Racing Horse of the Year Award in 2018 and 2025.
Early life
Hailey Kinsel was born on October 3, 1994. She grew up in Cotulla, Texas, with her parents Dan and Leslie Kinsel. Her mother, who has an equestrian background, is a former Miss Rodeo Texas in 1980. Her parents own a commercial beef cattle ranch, and were instrumental in fostering her interest in rodeo and horses because they both had rodeo backgrounds. They enabled her and her brother to compete in horse and other sports in addition to academic and livestock events. Kinsel initially preferred to compete as a gymnast. When she turned 11, she became more interested in barrel racing and rodeo.Career
At 13, Kinsel received her first dedicated barrel horse, who "couldn't be used on the ranch". As Kinsel says, "Josey was off the track, and she was one that mom and I kind of brought along together." Kinsel competed with Josey in junior high school and high school, but stopped when the mare became injured. Kinsel then competed on a gelding named Thunder Stones, nicknamed TJ, throughout college rodeo. She also had TJ when she filled her professional permit for the Women's Professional Rodeo Association.Kinsel and her mother bought her current barrel racing horse DM Sissy Hayday "Sister" as a filly. Sister was one of many horses they bought young and trained, while they used others to fill gaps. Sister was one they trained from the ground up. Sister was sired by Sherry Cervi's PC Frenchman's Hayday, nicknamed Dinero. "We bought her because we had an older half sister to her out of a Royal Shake Em mare that we just loved. We tried to find that lineage and follow that bloodline and thought, 'Well, if she's crossed with Dinero, this could be good", said Kinsel.
Kinsel turned professional by joining the WPRA in 2015. Barrel racing and breakaway roping are sanctioned by the WPRA, while the other rodeo events, for male contestants, are sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. All of the championship rodeo events are held together at the National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December. The exception is steer roping which has its own finals event at the National Finals Steer Roping. In July 2017 at the Days of '47 Rodeo, she cinched her first qualification to the NFR. She won the American Rodeo in 2017, came in second in 2018, won in 2019, and again in 2021.
2015 and 2016 seasons
In 2015, Kinsel finished ranked 19th in the WPRA Rookie of the Year standings with $4,880.In 2016, she won the Elizabeth Stampede in Colorado, the Longview PRCA Rodeo in Texas, the Crockett Lions Club PRCA Rodeo in Texas, and the Hugo PRCA Rodeo in Oklahoma.
2017 season
The Kinsel family bought Sister at the age of two while Kinsel was in her college freshman year; she and her mother took turns riding her. They experienced issues training Sister, but the mare also had some natural abilities. They waited until Sister was five years old to start her in futurity competition. Her second year running barrels was 2017 and was Kinsel's first year qualifying for the NFR. In the mare's first 14 months of competition, she won $35,000. Kinsel jockeyed Sister to her first professional rodeo win in Elizabeth, Colorado, in 2016 and her win in Denver, Colorado, in the 2017 season.Kinsel won a gold medal at the Days of '47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, Utah, and won the West of the Pecos Rodeo in Texas. She finished in second place at the Tri-State Fair and Rodeo in Amarillo, Texas, the Dinosaur Days Rodeo in Vernal, Utah, the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo in Oklahoma, and the San Patricio County PRCA Rodeo in Sinton, Texas, and tied for second place at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. Other than barrel racing, she also competed at the 2017 WPRA World Finals in breakaway roping.
Starting with the preliminary rounds in February, Kinsel competed at the "world's richest one-day rodeo," the American Rodeo, for the first time. The rodeo is held in Arlington, Texas, at the AT&T Stadium. In the semi-finals, Kinsel and Sister scored a time of 14.08 seconds to win and move on to the second round of semi-finals on Thursday.
Kinsel and Sister won the semi-finals and advanced to the finals on Sunday, February 19, where the possible finals prize was $1 million. Kinsel needed a clean run to take second place, but she and Sister went all out and won first, despite taking risks. Kinsel won her event with a time of 14.4 seconds in the long round, and moved in the top four for the short round. She and Sister scored a time of 14.689 in the short round to win the event and also the top time of the event. Three competitors from three different events split the million-dollar prize. Kinsel, Cody DeMoss, and Sage Kimzey each received $333,333.33 from what is called the side pot, as well as $100,000 for winning their respective events. The three participants each won $433,333.33 that day.
Kinsel had qualified for the American Rodeo at the Better Barrel Races Regional Qualifier in Glen Rose in November 2016. Due to that qualification, Kinsel became the first BBR/The American Qualifier to split the $1 million payout. Because Kinsel holds a BBR membership, her total winnings for $433,333.33 is a world record for members. "I didn't wear the right mascara for this", said Kinsel after her win. "God is good, and my horse is awesome." Sister helped Kinsel win almost $500,000 in the last couple of months leading up to and including the American.
National Finals Rodeo
Kinsel qualified for her first NFR in the seventh position in the world standings to make the top 15 competitors who qualify for the trip to the finals in December at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. She finished second in the world standings to become the reserve barrel racing world champion after 10 days of 10 go-rounds in the NFR. Kinsel set a new arena record in the third go-round with a time of 13.11 seconds. She set a new NFR earnings record by winning $189,385 in barrel racing over the entire 10 days of competition. She placed sixth in the NFR Average by winning four rounds out of 10 total and placing in 8 out of the 10 rounds. In only two of the 10 rounds, Kinsel finished out of the money due to knocking over a barrel, yet still was the high money earner.2018 season
In February, Kinsel competed at the AT&T Center, in the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo in Texas. Kinsel and Sister swept Bracket 1 to start the semifinals as the high money winners and finish as the same. They won $7,134 in their bracket. The first round of the semifinals she won $2,230. When they competed on Wednesday night, their run was almost perfect, garnering them a time of 13.60 seconds. They broke the arena record of 13.67 seconds set by Sydni Blanchard in 2013. Kinsel said it was special because she grew up attending this rodeo, which is near her childhood home.She won the Sanders County Fair and PRCA Rodeo in Plains, Montana, the Fallon County Fair and Rodeo in Baker, Montana, That Famous Preston Night Rodeo in Idaho, the Home of Champions Rodeo in Red Lodge, Montana, the Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, the West of the Pecos Rodeo in Texas, and the Clovis Rodeo in California. She finished second at RodeoHouston and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. She had a big win at Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, of $121,000, for which only $71,000 counted towards the World Standings. She also won the Days of '47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo in Salt Lake City, Utah, winning $53,200, although none of that counts to ProRodeo standings since that rodeo is not sanctioned by the WPRA. Kinsel won this rodeo two years consecutively.
This season, Sister earned more than $1 million in her career, including significant money for winning both the Calgary Stampede and the Days of '47 Rodeo. Kinsel said about Sister, "She really is that fast and that athletic, and I can't take credit for that. Some horses just have it, and she has that 'it' factor."
2018 National Finals Rodeo
At the 60th NFR on Saturday, December 15, in Las Vegas, Kinsel won her first barrel racing world championship. She and NFR Average winner Carman Pozzobon accepted their gold buckles and saddles in front of an audience of 17,150 in the stadium that evening. Kinsel finished the 10-day competition with a WPRA record $350,700 in season earnings. "Oh man, it was amazing," she said. "Everyone up there is so deserving, and they're heroes of mine. It was definitely surreal and was pretty awesome."Kinsel had the title locked up after new nine rounds. "We had won, and I could have run to try for that Top Gun deal, but she owes me nothing", Kinsel said. "We accomplished our main goal, and we are getting ready for 2019. So, she had the night off and I ran my backup horse, TJ. He proved that he deserves to be here, too." Kinsel's seventh-place finish in the NFR Average earned her $11,423. Kinsel's total winnings of $350,699.83 also outdistanced second-place finisher Jessica Routier's total winnings of $251,704.23 for the championship.
2019 season
She won the Sioux Falls Premier Rodeo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Pioneer Days Rodeo in Utah, and the Old Fort Days Rodeo in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She won the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo in San Antonio, Texas, for a second time. She won the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo in Texas. She came in second at the Hugo PRCA Rodeo in Oklahoma. She also took second place at the Annual Cowboy Capital of the World PRCA Rodeo in Stephenville, Texas. Kinsel also won her second the American Rodeo championship.In July, Kinsel competed at the historic Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Kinsel took first place in the Ladies Barrel Racing event on Tuesday, July 9. When she finished her winning run, the clock confirmed that she had matched the arena record, which is 16.99 seconds.