Andrea Busby enjoying return to Vegas after setting NFR record in 2024

Magical. It’s the word Andrea Busby comes back to when reflecting on her experience at the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Her first qualification to rodeo’s season-culminating event ended with a rewrite of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association record book. The Millsap, Texas, native’s aggregate time of 144.12 seconds on 10 runs reset the all-time standard. She captured almost $228,000 in Las Vegas, nearly doubling her winnings from the regular season, catapulting her from 12th in the world standings coming in to a No. 3 finish.

Magical? Absolutely. Fleeting? Most definitely.

“After I got my (NFR average) saddle and my buckle, I felt like I would never have another bad day. And then that night everyone was like, ‘Where are we going to eat dinner?’ And I was like, ‘Wait, it can’t continue and just be all about me forever?’” Busby said with a laugh. “It’s about the journey. The mountaintop is pretty short-lived, and then you’re right back at the bottom.

“So enjoying the process and qualifying for Vegas, that’s the goal. Accomplishing the goal you set out to accomplish, I figured out that is the pinnacle. All this other stuff that comes with Vegas and the money is the icing on the cake.”

It’s a lesson that has certainly served her well this season.

Busby is back at the Thomas & Mack Center, but her route to the 2025 NFR proved to be vastly different in many regards.

Last year, she relied heavily on her 10-year-old gelding Benny. The horse was her equine partner for those 10 record-shattering runs in Las Vegas last December. In 2023, fellow barrel racer Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi rode Benny to her third world title while setting a record with $496,499 earned over the course of the entire season.

Halfway through the 2025 regular season, the history-making sorrel was no longer available. In May, Benny suffered a bone chip in his ankle that required surgery. While there was discussion of trying to bring him back late in the year, Busby decided not to push his recovery for her personal gain.

“We didn’t feel like that was probably in his best interest. I didn’t feel like in eight weeks I could have him ready,” Busby said. “He (did not) make the trip this year, as painful as that is for me. There’s a selfish piece of that because of course I wanna take him. But I want him to be fully fit when I ask him to go.”

Benny’s absence certainly shifted the long-term outlook on the season. But Busby had already begun deepening her trailer long before he was sidelined.

During the winter, she opted to ride Derby, an 8-year-old red roan mare, to give Benny down time. Derby was the horse Busby won Fort Worth on back in February, a $27,700 payday that started her season off strong.

“I think (Derby) really showed up this winter when she made the short round just about everywhere we went. She was just really rock solid this winter,” Busby said. “I think the biggest thing was just her coming into her own as a rodeo horse. She was a fabulous futurity horse. I placed on her in the years leading up to this, but not like she did this year. She really kind of carried the load.”

Later, she added to the mix Tito, a 10-year-old mare, followed by the addition of Goodbye, a recently acquired 6-year-old buckskin gelding. While Tito battled a minor foot injury at points in the season, she also contributed with several big performances during the year. And despite being a summer addition to the fold, Goodbye actually picked up some significant earnings late in the schedule that helped secure Busby’s spot in the field of 15. Busby called the entire season “a good team effort for sure.”

Derby and Tito both made practice runs at the Thomas & Mack Center last year, so there is a level of familiarity with the facility. Also, Sue Smith is loaning out her 8-year-old buckskin gelding, Heff, for the NFR, giving Busby another option to call on.

“We’re ready. We’ve got A, B, C and D,” Busby joked. “You never know how things are going to go when you go out there. It’s a long 10 days.”

Unfortunately, it’s been a long six days so far. Busby qualified as the No. 14 barrel racer going in, and she’s had five solid runs. But the only check came from a sixth-place effort in Round 4, for $5,914, so she still sits at 14th.

The magic of 2024 is unlikely to replicate itself this year. And for Busby, that’s OK. Getting back to Las Vegas was a rewarding — albeit different — experience this time around, one she is grateful to have.

While her horses might not be familiar with the feel of sprinting down the alleyway to the roar of an NFR crowd, Busby knows the nightly runs are a parallel for the journey it took to get here. Lots of anticipation and mental preparation for one temporary moment to shine.

It’s an experience she intends to savor as long as possible.

“The goal has been accomplished — now we just enjoy it,” Busby said.