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LARAMIE – University of Wyoming junior barrel racer Kailee Webb has seen her share of misfortune during the past year to last a lifetime in the sport.

It all started for the Isabel, South Dakota, native at this time last year when she suffered a serious knee injury during the opening round of the College National Finals Rodeo when she hit a barrier entering the arena during a run.

Then during the course of the fall and spring Webb had to retire two horses, one from colic and one with a fractured skull.

“Last fall was really rough for me mentally, and then I hit a lot of barrels this spring on my new horse,” Webb said. “But my knee is feeling good and the horse is feeling a lot better. We finally got things figured out and I’m excited for some redemption.”

Part of Webb’s excitement is that she’ll compete with three Cowgirl goat tiers as a team in the CNFR starting Monday at the Casper Events Center.

If the Cowgirls hadn’t qualified as a team, Webb’s season would have been done with her ninth-place finish in the Central Rocky Mountain Region barrel racing standings.

Now Webb has a second chance and UW will enter CNFR as a team capable of making a run at the title.

“Kailee’s been through a lot,” UW rodeo coach George Howard said. “It’s good to see her healthy and her horse healthy. “It’s always a good thing to get here as a team. It’s a little more opportunity for us. I think we’ve got a good chance at a run at a title in CNFR.”

UW finished second in the CRMR standings during the course of the fall and spring with 2,261 points, behind Gillette College’s winning total of 3,298.

Joining Webb this week will be senior Amelia Anderson, junior Casey Reimler and freshman Cori Terry in goat tying.

Terry finished second in the CRMR standings this spring with 770 points while Anderson was third (633.7) and Reimler in seventh (382).

Howard said having three consistent goat tiers is enough to do well as a team this week, as long as all three contribute points.

‘They’re consistent, and that’s the main thing in that event,” Howard said. “They’re also fast, but they always get a time. What makes them good is their style and technique.

“We just need to make sure we all pick up some go-round points and qualify for the short round, they’ll be right there.”

Anderson said UW benefits in rodeos from practicing on the ground.

“We practice a lot with a lot of ground tying,” she said. “From the fall, we were scoring points in quite a few events and building up the team points. We always had the goal of coming to the CNFR as a team and I think we have what it takes to perform really well here.”

It would also help the Cowgirls for Webb to score points in barrel racing. The CRMR barrel racing champion last season, Webb struggled after the injury in Casper.

“I still don’t feel 100 percent normal,” Webb said. “I can still whip and spur and that’s all I need to do. You use your legs and your whole body to drive and communicate with the horse. My horse is very capable of doing well here so I hope this year it won’t be something that keeps us for doing really well.”

The UW men’s team failed to qualify for CNFR after placing fifth in the regional standings.

But the Cowboys will send three to nationals as individuals.

Junior Wyatt Hageman will compete in saddle bronc riding with brothers Dusty and Denton Taylor competing in team roping.

Hageman was third in the CMRM standings with 540 points, as were the Taylor brothers in team roping.

Howard said consistency will be the key for the Cowboys as well.

“(The Taylors) have been on a roll winning roping events,” Howard said. “They have to be consistent on four head this week. They just have to go out there and stop the clock.”

The CNFR begins with slack at 7 a.m. Monday and Tuesday. The night performances are 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday with the championship final at 7 p.m. Saturday.