No one had more to gain on Showdown Sunday at the 2013 Calgary Stampede than Texas cowgirl Jean Winters. Ranked 89th in the WPRA World standings, Winters was the lowest ranked cowgirl to qualify for the final day at the Stampede.
Apparently pressure packed situations suit the cowgirl who hails from Texline, in the northwest corner of the Texas panhandle. Just to be in Calgary, Winters had to win the final stop on the 2012 WPRA Qualifying Tour, the race held last October in conjunction with the WPRA World Finals in Lincoln, Neb. That win was just enough to squeeze Winters into the final spot in Calgary from the Qualifying Tour standings.
The ride didn't end there. Winters and her tough little gelding, Crickets Peppy Zan, struggled to find their rhythm during Pool A competition in Calgary, never breaking into the seventeen seconds on any of their four preliminary runs, two of which were made in the mud.
But the Stampede gives all 20 competitors who are entered multiple chances to get to Showdown Sunday.
With time running out, Winters earned the final spot into the last round by placing second in the Wild Card round on Saturday. Her 17.86 was two tenths behind former Canadian Champion Trula Churchill but a tenth better than the rest of the field, ensuring her place in the final round. It also earned her $5,000, her first check at the Stampede.
On Showdown Sunday, all 10 qualifiers make one run in the semi-finals before the field is whittled down to four. The final four run for the huge $100,000 paycheck, $50,000 of which counts for the WPRA world standings this year.
Not surprisingly, it was Arizona cowgirl Sherry Cervi who outgunned the field in the semi-finals. Cervi and her homegrown mare, MP Meter My Hay, rounded the cloverleaf in the huge Calgary arena in 17.42 seconds to win the round. Reigning World Champion Mary Walker was close behind at 17.52 while Winters stopped the clock in 17.54, her best run of the week at that point. Fallon Taylor rounded out the field of four with her 17.62.
After facing elimination from contention multiple times en route to her place in the Showdown, Winters showed remarkable calm and poise in her final round. Facing the top three barrel racers in the World today, she and the gutsy, 10 year old she calls Zan stopped the clock in 17.40 seconds, saving their best run for the biggest moment.
Taylor had started the round with a barrel down when Winters took the lead. Now she had to sweat out the two hottest horses and barrel racers in Calgary. Walker came next, piloting the 2012 AQHA/WPRA Horse of the Year Perculatin, aka Latte. The big brown horse ate up the arena dirt but came just short, clocking in at 17.45 seconds.
With at least $25,000 already in her pocket for second, Winters had to hold her breath while Cervi finished out the round. No one could be more dangerous to a lead than Stingray and her jockey, who had earned an astounding $57,000 in the three weeks leading up to the Showdown.
With another classic run in the books, the clock showed 17.46 seconds, leaving the title and $100,000 in the hands of Winters.
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