story by Lily Weinacht
Sydni Rae Jones and her horse Pepper came roaring into the arena this summer and took home two year-end barrel racing titles in less than a month. The 7-year-old from Brady, Texas, was taught by two of her barrel racing idols and mentors, Tammy Fischer and Taci Bettis, to roar at her horse when she runs into the arena. Sydni Rae’s trademark expression helped her win the 2018 AJRA World Champion Barrel Racer, 2018 Finals Barrel Racing Champion and the year-end and Finals All-Around Cowgirl titles in the 8 and Under division. “I felt really good about my barrel racing, but we were surprised about the all-around,” says Sydni Rae, who was the reserve champion pole bender in the AJRA in 2017. Just a few weeks after the AJRA NFR, she returned to Sweetwater, Texas, and won the Ogden 8 and Under World Champion Barrel Race, and in April she won the barrel racing and all-around titles in her age division at the 2018 CTYRA Finals.
All of Sydni Rae’s accomplishments are even more meaningful since her summer rodeo season got off to a rough start. “In June, she got an awful staph infection from scratching a bug bite, and they had to go in and do surgery on it,” says Ricci Jones, Sydni Rae’s mom. “She was in the hospital for six days, and we were worried that her summer was done, but she came back stronger than ever. She got her drain tube out and we went to a rodeo that night. She had her fastest goat time ever and won the barrels and poles there.”
Ricci has trained all of the barrel and pole horses Sydni Rae is competing on right now, including Pepper, who is a full sister to Ricci’s dad’s double bred Three Bars stud. Pepper was Ricci’s breakaway horse she trained to do barrels and poles when Sydni was almost 4. At first, Pepper was too much horse for Sydni Rae when she was 5 and tried to run her, but when Sydni Rae’s main barrel and pole horse suffered a career-ending injury in August of last year, Ricci pulled Pepper out of the pasture and it was a perfect fit. Sydni Rae also runs barrels and poles on her horses Dolly and Surprise, and goat ties off of Roanie. Surprise, who is the same age as Sydni Rae, is extra special to the family since she is out of the mare that carried Ricci to the NHSFR, college rodeo, and pro rodeo. “I also have two baby kittens, a little dog and three big dogs, and goat tying goats,” says Sydni Rae. “I help with saddling and unsaddling, and putting my horses in the barn. I practice pretty much every day. I do lots of barrel drills, like the starfish, which helps me with practicing driving into my pockets, not leaning in the turn, and keeping my horse’s shoulders up.”
Once practice is over, Sydni Rae swims in her family’s pool before heading inside. Her 4-year-old brother, Reid, also enjoys riding, but calls himself a golfing cowboy and prefers the putting green to the rodeo arena. Reid and Sydni Rae’s dad, Steve Jones, a Texas highway patrol sergeant, comes to as many of Sydni Rae’s rodeos as he can. Ricci also plans to return to competition soon since her barrel horse is back from a two-year hiatus due to a severe injury.
When she’s not with her animals, Sydni Rae can be found at Rochelle School. A second-grader, she enjoys her math class, where they’re studying addition and subtraction. After school, she heads straight for the practice pen, where she’s working toward her latest barrel racing goal. She qualified for The American Semi-Finals after winning the AJRA barrel racing title, and hopes to make it all the way to The American and AT&T Stadium in February.
