Kappie Bryant on Her $68K Win at PWR, ‘Pancakes’ And More on The Money Barrel

The industry fell for a buckskin gelding named Pancakes at the 2025 NFR, where he carried Halyn Lide to back-to-back second-place rounds in her first trip to the finals.

Last month his owner, Kappie Bryant, won about $68,500 on him herself at the Premier Women’s Rodeo Championship. Kayla Jones got Bryant on The Money Barrel to tell the whole story, starting with the day she met the horse at a gas station and nearly backed out of the trade.

• ‘He’s My Best Friend’ Kappie Bryant and Pancakes Celebrate Hard-Earned $68K Week at PWR

The short version: Bryant traded a PEMF machine for a bay gelding, then traded that gelding plus a little cash for a matted, half-frozen pony hauled down from up north in the dead of winter. He was supposed to be 14.2 hands. He barely stood 13, and he wears a yearling-size blanket to this day. She spent a full year just getting him healthy while she went through a divorce, and the horse she says she “did not deserve” met her at the gate every single day anyway.

The longer version, including the simple hay fix that finally unlocked him and how she coached Lide through the NFR by phone, is in the episode.

If you watched Pancakes steal the NFR’s heart beneath Halyn Lide and wondered where a horse like that comes from, this is the one to put in your ears. Patreon members get more than 10 extra minutes with Bryant this week.

About the guest

Kappie Bryant is a Stephenville, Texas barrel racer and the owner of Smooth As Rico Suave, the little buckskin gelding better known as Pancakes. She bought him as a coming four-year-old in a trade that was next to a giveaway, brought him up herself hauling pop-up barrels to every rodeo she entered, and watched him place against the toughest derby horses in the country in what was effectively his first year of competition. She loaned him to Halyn Lide for the 2025 NFR, where he placed second on back-to-back nights. Last month the two of them won about $68,500 at the Premier Women’s Rodeo Championship, with $60,000 of it coming in the final round.

A few things you’ll hear

• The gas-station trade, and the moment a frozen, matted pony walked off the trailer and she thought “no way”
• Why she spent a full year just letting him grow and get healthy before she ever hauled him hard
• The alfalfa that was quietly making him tie up, and the hay swap that gave her horse back right before he won the Texarkana Derby and about $20,000
• How Ashton Jones, who started him and called him Rico, messaged her out of the blue and became part of the story
• How she talked Halyn Lide through riding him at her first NFR, hand whip and all, to two second-place rounds
• Patreon members get about 10 more minutes with Bryant this week

Sponsor — SmartEquine / ColiCare

This week’s episode is brought to you by SmartPark and ColiCare. Colic is one of the leading causes of emergency vet visits, and ColiCare is a proactive approach to hind gut health and colic prevention, pairing targeted digestive support with a program built to keep you ahead of problems instead of reacting to them. Eligible horses enrolled in the program may receive up to $15,000 in colic surgery reimbursement. Learn more at this link.