Sears shifts focus from rodeo to stable of young horses
Lindsay Sears’ take on the $1.6 million Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which came to a conclusion at Las Vegas on the weekend?
“It wasn’t what I had envisioned,” responded the two-time world champion barrel racer from Nanton. “It wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t the best I ever had and it wasn’t the worst I ever had. It was just OK.”
The 31-year-old finished fourth in the world standings with a $190,000 year after closing out the WNFR with a $53,741 run over 10 nights that included the eighth and last money hole in the aggregate.
So much for a $1.5 million career that has spanned the last seven years.
“My main priority is not going to be rodeo next year,” Sears revealed over the phone on Sunday night after spending the day with a sponsor. “I’m not saying I’m not going to rodeo. I’ll go to the ones I’m qualified for — like San Antonio, Houston and Calgary and a few other ones. That’s pretty much it.
“I’ll have to sit down and think about it in the New Year as to whether or not I’ll even try to make the Canadian Finals Rodeo.”
Call it a new chapter in her life — and that of her superstar sorrel mare Martha.
“I’m going to concentrate on my young horses,” she said of the scads she has around her parents’ property near Nanton. “I’m a year away from getting them ready for the (four-yearold) Futurities. They need to be trained. They need to learn the barrel pattern. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.”
And then there’s Martha, who’s about to turn 13.
“I’m going to start the next phase of her career,” Sears reported. “Not only is she going to be semi-retired next year, but I’m going to do some embryos on her. That’s the most exciting thing. It’s a whole new chapter for her.
“It’s time for all that to happen, so those are going to be my main priorities.”
A week prior to the NFR, Sears was concerned she would have to go with her 10-year-old bay Moe at Las Vegas. But, an MRI on a tendon cleared Martha to run and Moe was left in the corral — until the last round.
“I just wanted to give him some experience,” Sears explained. “There was no purpose behind it other than if I was going to rodeo next year, I needed to know if he was going to work in the Thomas and Mack arena. There was no better opportunity to do it than right then.
“There wasn’t a whole lot to gain running Martha other than winning the round, which is a lot of money ($18,257), but I felt Moe needed the experience more than I needed to win the round.”