Community Coffee: Hailey Kinsel

Hailey Kinsel starts her mornings with a warm cup of Community Coffee and a grateful heart. A 4x World Champion barrel racer, the 28-year-old is currently ranked seventh in the world. She doesn’t go a morning without her caffeine boost, her favorite being Community Coffee’s Mardi Gras King Cake blend. Hailey has a routine before her events that goes hand in hand with her cup of joe. “I try to take a moment where I get to sit outside, usually with coffee in hand,” Hailey said. “And just appreciate that I’m at this rodeo, this is a rodeo I’ve wanted to come to…and I’m here to do my job.” Hailey is appreciative for her sponsorship with Community Coffee, which began in the spring of 2022. “They’ve gone above and beyond their promises to us as far as what their goals were on helping the industry grow,“ Hailey said, grateful for the organization’s commitment to working directly with athletes. She enjoys the coffee stands they set up for contestants at rodeos. She is also thankful to be working with an organization that is aligned with her values.
“They’re all about family and community and taking care of the people around us,” Hailey said.
“They’re big on working together and helping us work with each other, helping as a group to grow our sport and they truly believe in rodeo’s value system.” She is grateful to work with Community Coffee as she moves forward in her rodeo career.
Hailey grew up on a ranch in Cotulla, Texas, where she currently lives when she’s not on the road for rodeo. She has had a love for working with horses ever since she can remember. She has memories of her mother leading her on a horse at around three or four years old. Hailey participated in rodeo and 4-H events growing up but found a deep passion for rodeo competition and working with her horses. “I really just love running a horse down an alley,” Hailey said. “I really liked that rodeo takes you to different places all the time where you can do that same thing somewhere else.”
Hailey is grateful for the support of her family throughout her career, as they have encouraged her passion as a competitor. She has faced victories and challenges during her time in rodeo. She recalls the first time she won a world championship. “It was so special, you know it’s kind of a surreal feeling, because that’s something you dream about but you’re not sure if it will happen to you,” Hailey said. Along with the fulfilled goals, comes the challenges. Rodeo has thrown her unplanned curve balls.
“If there’s a challenge in rodeo I’ve faced it,” Hailey said.
She has faced challenges with horses, equipment, finances and the struggle to be away from her family. Rodeo calls for a lot of travel, which means missing big events in her family. Hailey explains that she will be missing celebrations like her cousin’s wedding. While Hailey wishes she could celebrate these events and milestones, her path in rodeo calls for her to be on the road, chasing her goals.
As she has won championships over the years, she has also accumulated fame. After a race, fans call her name asking for pictures and autographs. Hailey is grateful to be a role model and to interact with fans. This aspect does limit her time to reflect after an event. She has had to find a way to balance these aspects. She’s learned to turn on her ‘greeting switch’ after races and make time to reflect and learn from her run later on. She’s found that she often has time to reflect on her performances during her drive time between rodeos. Hailey often drives on her own, with her mom or a friend driving with her occasionally. This gives her time to reflect on her performance. “There’s no real guide on how to handle that, it’s just something you learn as you go,” Hailey said. These challenges have grown her in her career.
No matter what, Hailey is always looking toward the future. She’s thankful for the past and the aspects that have led to her success and championships but uses “that as fuel to move forward,” Hailey said. “We’re not going to get stuck in what we used to do, we’re going to keep trucking forward.” Hailey is cautious to not let her success of the past allow her to stop working toward her next goal.
Burnout often lurks in the back of many rodeo athletes minds as they continue to chase their passions. Hailey, however, has a plan to conquer it. She has already experienced some burnout in her career and feels prepared to handle it. “I’ve experienced it so I can’t say it’s something I’m afraid of by any means,” Hailey said. She recalls when she did experience a little burnout. It occurred “because I got so fixated on the things I wanted to accomplish here that I couldn’t be content with what God had for me at that time,” Hailey said. She plans to guard her heart and not get fixated on the small aspects like wins and losses when put in perspective of God’s plan for her life.
Hailey is looking forward to her next goal as she prepares for the Cinch Playoffs in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She is working hard to qualify for the playoffs. In 2020, she had the opportunity to compete at the playoffs in Rapid City, South Dakota. Despite the COVID conditions during that time, the state made a way for her and the other athletes to still have an opportunity to compete. Reflecting on this experience, Hailey is looking forward to competing in Sioux Falls under more normal conditions. She is looking forward to honoring “those people that champion us and our sport and allowed us to make a living in 2020,” Hailey said.
As she plans for approaching rodeos, she is also taking steps to make sure that her 12-year-old horse, Sister, is prepared for big events. Sister currently has $2.8 million in earnings and has always shown up ready to compete. “She’s had an incredible career and one that isn’t anywhere close to finished,” Hailey said. She picks certain rodeos to bring Sister to so she has less travel time and is ready for bigger rodeos. Hailey explains that Sister is “truly special” and is sure to keep Sister’s fitness up through workouts. Hailey also spends time to make sure that she is communicating well with Sister and they are both prepared for rodeos.
When she’s back home in Cotulla, Hailey spends her time training horses. She trains horses for different purposes like ranch work, barrel racing and to sell. She trains an equal amount for her personal use as she does to sell at this point. When she is travelling, her mom helps with the training when she can. Hailey has enjoyed training kid horses that are safe for children to ride and has clients in south Texas for these horses.
As she prepares for upcoming rodeos, she never forgets the reason why she is where she is. “I’m very thankful for the blessings I’ve had that allowed me to live this dream, but I always try to remember that I’m living this dream because of what God has for me to do, which is to give Him glory,” Hailey said.