The Super Bowl of Circuit Battles
By Maureen Panno

Imagine for a moment what it would be like to compete against the very best cowboys and barrel racers in the Great Lakes Pro Rodeo Circuit. Now imagine what an achievement it would be to win the average title at the end of the three day circuit finals competition. For barrel racer Lisa Novak, she doesn't need to imagine anything. She's lived it two years in a row. Last November, on her son's birthday, she won her second Great Lakes Circuit Barrel Racing average title. The win automatically qualified her for a berth on the roster of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo held in Pocatello, Idaho in March.

At the DNCFR, at the end of the first round, she was in 14th place. "At first I was a little intimidated. I knew Cash could pull his weight, but he was a little out of shape going into it."

By the time the semifinal round started, she had moved up to the number 8 spot in the average and she placed third in that round. "I think I had a plus by having Cash fresher. He was hitting his stride and a lot of the horses were getting tired. The semifinals were a clean slate and I had no expectations, no stress. My husband on the other hand..."

Her cheering section was a little reversed. Instead of him reassuring her, she had to calm him down. "He was white as a ghost. He was behind the chutes and after each run I had to keep telling him everything was going to be okay."

When it was announced after the final round that she had won the Barrel Racing title, Dan went into proud peacock mode. "He called everybody in the country that he could think of to call. We have a video of me taking the victory lap and he's on the phone. My parents were there to see it and that was really great."

    PRCA photo by Larry Smith

Lisa is the first barrel racer from the Great Lakes Circuit to win a DNCFR title.

In addition to the Championship prize money, she received a new sponsor, Prime Performance Nutrition, and a brand new Dodge truck that she was able to special order. The truck will be more than welcome when it arrives because her regular truck broke down on her way back home to Laona, Wisconsin.

Waiting for the truck has been a roller coaster ride for her. "I was on cloud 9 after the win, but then the truck didn't get here. Then I talked to the dealer and he said it's real close to being here, so I'm all excited about it again. It'll be great to be going again and representing that (the DNCFR Barrel Racing title)."

Instead of loading her 13 year old horse, Cash N Blue - which she calls Cash, into a horse trailer and hauling him to every rodeo in the circuit, she picks and chooses which rodeos to compete in. "I go to the rodeos where there's added money. I don't try for the Wrangler National Finals, I'm a circuit person. This (the DNCFR) is my NFR."

Lisa's husband, Dan, who was never around horses very much before meeting her, has been very understanding about the rodeo lifestyle. Instead of being upset that she wasn't home very much, he decided to start traveling with her to rodeos. It didn't take very long at all for the rodeo bug to bite him and he became a steer wrestler for the Great Lakes Circuit. Now Lisa and Dan travel together and compete at the same rodeos. This year will mark their 16th wedding anniversary and Lisa said, "Our families don't understand us. They don't understand the traveling, the lack of sleep, hauling a horse trailer around, but when you're hooked, you're hooked."

A friend once told her that you only have so many runs in a horse for doing rodeos "and that's my philosophy about it. I feel that Cash is stronger at the end of the year."

It takes several years to train a horse for barrel racing. They have to know how to handle themselves on all different kinds of soil and conditions. "Cash really does well in Louisville (Freedom Hall). I really like that arena."

Lisa personifies the words drive and determination.

If Cheyenne Frontier Days is called "the Daddy of 'em all", the Wrangler National Finals is called "the Super Bowl of Rodeo", then the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo should be called the "Super Bowl of Circuit Battles."

See you in November at the Great Lakes Circuit Finals, Lisa.