Pharr pockets $29,372 to lead all barrel racers during the Fourth of July run

Posted Monday, July 6, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Brittany Pharr, who won her first world title in 2007, is eyeing another gold buckle and following her lucrative Fourth of July run, she closed the gap between her and WPRA standings leader Mary Burger.

Pharr of Victoria, Texas, won a jaw dropping $29,372 at rodeos that ended between June 29 and July 5. She finished $6,702 ahead of reigning world champion Lindsay Sears who finished the Fourth of July run with a total of $22,670, all with a broken left fibula. Pharr not only won the most in the WPRA but was second overall in total money won by any ProRodeo competitor. Two-time world champion bareback rider Bobby Mote won the most of any competitor with an astounding $29,926.

Pharr, like Mote, won her biggest paycheck at the Ponoka (Alberta) Stampede. Pharr finished second in the first round with a time of 17.36 seconds, behind Sears with a time of 16.93 seconds. Pharr returned for the Finals on July 1 to win the final round in a time of 17.41 seconds, while Sears was fourth with a time of 17.59 seconds. Sears captured the average title with a two run time of 34.52 seconds, while Pharr was second with a total time of 34.77. Sears finished atop the leaderboard in the four person showdown round with a time of 17.17 seconds outdistancing Lisa Lockhart with a 17.24, Pharr with a 17.25 and Joleen Seitz with a 22.67. All totaled Sears rode away with $16,684, while Pharr collected $13,240 to get her Fourth of July run off to a fast start.

Pharr’s next big wins came at two Wrangler ProRodeo Tour rodeos in St. Paul, Ore., and Prescott, Ariz. Pharr won $6,834 in St. Paul and added another $3,752 in Prescott. She also picked up $1,945 at the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour rodeo in Cody, Wyo., $2,069 at the Oakley (Utah) Independence Stampede and $1,532 at the Livingston (Mont.) Round-Up.

In 2008, Pharr finished second to Jill Moody in total money won over the July 4 run. Pharr finished with $19,364, while Moody collected checks totaling $25,698. Pharr is currently second in the world standing with $72,875 behind Burger with $99,670.

The top five money winners from this year’s big week were: 1. Brittany Pharr, $29,372; 2. Lindsay Sears, $22,670; 3. Danyelle Campbell, $19,039; 4. Lisa Lockhart, $18,459; and 5. Shelley Morgan, $16,849.