Jessica Routier is a professional

barrel racer Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur and ...

who has competed in many

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

s all over the world. She has three

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the fi ...

qualifications, and she has seven

National Circuit Finals Rodeo The NFR Open is an annual championship rodeo event of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) held annually in the United States. The event was previously known as the National Circuit Finals Rodeo (NCFR) from 1987 to 2021, before bein ...

qualifications.

Early life

Routier was born Jessica Mueller on June 20, 1983. She grew up in

Montfort, Wisconsin Montfort is a village in Grant and Iowa Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 718 at the 2010 census. Of this, 622 were in Grant County, and 96 were in Iowa County. The Iowa County portion of Montfort is part of the Madison ...

. Routier grew up around horses; her mother and father rodeoed a little bit in their college and earlier years, which led her to do every girls event possible. She competed at Little Britches Rodeos and the Wisconsin High School Rodeo Association winning the Wisconsin high school

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

title for four years, the

goat tying Goat tying is a rodeo event typically seen in youth, high school and college rodeos, in which the participant rides to a tethered goat, dismounts, catches, throws, and ties any three of its legs together. The goat must stay tied for six seconds a ...

three years, and the

pole bending Pole bending is a timed event that features a horse and one mounted rider, running a weaving or serpentine path around six poles arranged in a line. This event is usually seen in high school rodeos and 4-H events as well as American Quarter Ho ...

and

breakaway roping Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. It is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted rider. The calves are moved one at a time through narrow runs leading to a chute with spring ...

twice. She is also a three-time Wisconsin all-around champion. With a rodeo scholarship to

National American University National American University (NAU) is a private for-profit online university with locations at Ellsworth Air Force Base and Naval Submarine Base King's Bay. It is owned by National American University Holdings, Inc. (NAUH). In 2018, NAU acqui ...

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

, she competed under the tutelage of Glen Lammers and she qualified for the

College National Finals Rodeo {{Unreferenced, date=October 2021 The College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), sanctioned by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), is held every June. Since 1999, the CNFR has been held at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming. B ...

four times, winning the national

barrel racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur a ...

title in 2003. She graduated in 2006 with a master’s degree in business.

Personal life

Routier met her future husband Riley while attending university in Rapid City, and she was married in 2007. She and her husband have five children: four girls and one boy. Her family usually travels with her to her competitions. Her family lives on a farm where they farm grass and raise cattle; the land is mostly leased from Riley's parents. Her oldest son Braden has competed in the South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals, while her second child Payton also competes in rodeo.

Horses

Routier rides horses that have been provided by Gary Westergren, from Westergren Quarter Horses of

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. Prior to meeting Routier, Westergren was looking for someone who could get one of his horses into the

, and he found that person in Routier. She gets Westergren's horses as two-year-olds and sends them out for thirty days. Then she gets them back, putting lots of ranch miles on them and slowly introducing them to barrels. She and Westergren then decide if the horse is a good fit for her or not. If they agree, then the horse stays; if not, Westergren will sell it, however if it is a mare he will take it back and breed it. Smoothie was trained by Routier's mother, Shelly Mueller, and Routier competed on the horse during high school and college, winning the College National Finals Rodeo. As of 2021, Smoothie is a 26-year old mare. Fiery Miss West, or "Missy", is Routier's current horse, owned by Westergren. Routier began riding Missy in 2017 as a futurity horse. Routier stated that Missy reminded her of "Smoothie". She has described Missy as special, "had a lot of good qualities that I knew I liked", and "it's natural; the way I want to ride is the way she wants to be ridden." As of 2021, Missy is a 10-year old mare.

Career

As of 2019, Routier has competed in over 58 rodeos. She has earned $643,308 in career winnings as of 2020. She is ranked 7th in the world in barrel racing. She has qualified to the 2018, 2019, and 2020 National Finals Rodeo, and finished 3rd in the average finish for barrel racing at the 2020 National Finals Rodeo, a place she also claimed at the 2020 RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo.

Career highlights

In 2017, she won the Badlands Circuit year-end title. In 2018 she finished the year as reserve WPRA World Champion with $251,704 and was second in the NFR average race. She placed in 7 out of 10 rounds at her first Wrangler NFR. In 2019, she entered the Wrangler NFR ranked 8th. She placed in six out of 10 rounds, finished 9th in the average and remained ranked 8th in the world. She won a total of $94,615 at the NFR and finished the year with $191,197 in earnings. In 2020 she finished third in the average at the National Finals Rodeo, scoring 174.59 seconds across 10 runs, winning $82,346. She won the Oregon Trail Rodeo.

Awards

* 2020: Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo Barrel Racing Horse of the Year. * 2018–2019: She won the Jerry Ann Taylor Best Dressed Award Winner at the Wrangler NFR.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Routier, Jessica 1983 births Living people People from Buffalo County, South Dakota American barrel racers Cutting (sport) All-Around Sportspeople from South Dakota American female equestrians People from Montfort, Wisconsin 21st-century American women