Zvonar’s Houdini has ‘the biggest heart ever’

LAS VEGAS – For a barrel racer, River Zvonar is a pretty good pole bender.

Zvonar finished fourth in the first round of the KK Run for Vegas Pole Bending with a 20.470-second run and followed that with a 20.621 Thursday to take the lead in the average at the YETI Junior National Finals Rodeo.

Not bad for someone who didn’t expect to be competing in poles this week.

“I didn’t go out of my way to qualify,” Zvonar said after her run Thursday. “I was at a barrel race and my mom said there was a qualifier for Junior NFR, so I entered and it worked out.”

The 15-year-old from Tulare, California, also is competing on a horse that has been dealing with health issues.

“My horse has been really struggling with some ulcers recently, so we’ve been treating him for that,” Zvonar said of Houdini. “Mostly my goal was to keep him calm and just make clean runs.”

Zvonar and Houdini have done just that through two rounds. Heading into Friday’s second round for Group 2, they’re atop the average leader board with a two-run time of 41.091 seconds. Bronc Stewart of Wells, Nevada, is second with a 41.293.

This is Zvonar’s first time competing in the Junior NFR, but she and Houdini aren’t strangers to Las Vegas. They competed in the ALL IN barrel racing at The Orleans last year.

Pole bending, though, is a somewhat new experience for the bay.

“He had barely ever seen the poles when I got him, so it’s been a learning experience for both of us,” Zvonar admitted. “He’s like the least friendly horse I’ve ever had, but he has the biggest heart ever. I’m not truly surprised at how well he’s done, but I’m really proud.

“I knew he could do it,” she added. “I knew I just needed to ride smart and get him to where he needed to be and he would take care of me.”

The two have been taking care of each other in and out of the arena for nearly two years.

“I got him when my old horse tore a deep digital flexor, and I was in need of a horse for high school rodeo,” Zvonar explained. “One of my family friends offered him to me just to lease for a month or two and I ended up falling in love with him. I was told my horse would never run again, so we ended up buying him and it’s been amazing. He’s pretty awesome.”

The two won’t compete again until the short round Saturday. And with two clean runs so far, Zvonar doesn’t see a need to change their pre-run routine.

“I’m going to do the same thing I’ve been doing,” she said. “Taking all the extra steps in warming him up to make sure he’s feeling himself. And trying to keep him calm in the gate, because I feel like that’s the biggest thing with him; whenever he gets too worked up, we lose our momentum for our run. So just keep him calm and try to make another clean run.”

Abbigayle Keech of Helena, Montana, had the fastest run Thursday with a 20.126-second run, followed by Madison Raz of Inez, Texas, with a 20.229 and Stewart with a 20.503. Sadie Hotzler of Jackson, Minnesota, who won the first round with a 19.805, knocked over a pole and finished with a 25.311.

In Senior barrel racing, Brooklyn Stallone of Peoria, Arizona, won the first and second rounds with times of 13.687 and 13.589, respectively, to lead the average with a two-run time of 27.276 seconds. Brynn Hensley of Nevada, Missouri, who finished second in both rounds, is next with a 27.552. Troi Lynn Lancaster of Montgomery, Texas, is third in the average with a 13.817.

Teagan Cline of Roseburg, Oregon, won the first round of Junior barrel racing with a 13.860, followed by Austyn Schuknecht of Buhl, Idaho, with a 13.929 and Ellie Carlson of Taylor, Arizona, with a 13.966.