BY: KENDRA SANTOS
College barrel racing standout Bristan Kennedy is a one-woman three-ring circus. She and her partners in cloverleaf crime—Kennedy’s main mount Cici and her sidekick Nellie—are in the house today as the $750,000 Women’s Rodeo World Championship gets into full swing at Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Kennedy and Copies Famous Saint—that’s “Cici” at the barn—currently lead the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s Southwest Region barrel racing standings at fall run’s end. What are they doing here?
“We’re here because of the reputation of the WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) being nice people who work hard to give us the opportunity to win a lot of money,” said Kennedy of Levelland, Texas, who rodeos for the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock.
The three amigas in their rig include Bristan, Cici, who’s 10, and mini-me Nellie, who’s half her age and half her size.
“We don’t leave home without her,” Kennedy said. “Nellie is the best friend and caretaker of the group. She keeps Cici in check, for sure. When Cici’s by herself she flips out. She’s crazy. These two are tight, and together we’re a better team.”
