“It’s a great rodeo for the circuit, but it’s also a really big rodeo for the summer run in general,” said Peterson, who attended Oklahoma Panhandle State University, just two hours southwest of Dodge City. “It’s a tour rodeo, so it’s got a lot of things that can bump you up in three different standings.”
Barrel racer Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi kept her momentum going in Dodge City. She was more than solid competing on the second day of the rodeo, Thursday, July 31. She stopped the clock in 17.22 seconds that morning to finish third in the first go-round, then ran a 16.94 to take the second-round lead; Emily Beisel topped that time a day later by five-hundredths of a second.
Pozzi Tonozzi, a 17-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier and three-time world champion from Lampasas, Texas, won the Roundup title with a two-run cumulative time of 34.16 seconds. She pocketed $8,190.
Events like Roundup, which feature a back-to-back format, allow contestants to get in and get out while also running for big bucks. That means horsepower is necessary, and Pozzi Tonozzi has had that for two decades. So does Peterson, who took advantage of two good calves and her quality mount to claim victory.
“He just does his job every time,” she said of Festus, a 12-year-old red roan gelding she acquired just before RodeoHouston. “I ride a bunch of horses, so I’m used to my horse maybe not working every trip but he’s something else. I just back in the box, and he does not flinch until I drop my hand.
“That’s really allowed me to just think about roping and not be worried about what my horse is going to do. It allows me to do my job a lot better. He maximizes all my chances on any calf.”
Festus was one of the shining moments in a Kansas cowgirl winning the state’s biggest ProRodeo.
“I’ve been in that arena for so many years growing up, and my sister lived in Dodge City for a few years, too,” Peterson said. “I’ve spent a lot of time at Dodge through junior high rodeo and high school rodeo. I’ve always loved that arena. To be able to go over there and win that was pretty special.”
