Mary Burger (born August 18, 1948) is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing.
She has won two Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championships in 2006 and 2016.
[1] As an amateur, Burger competed in the AQHA in barrel racing, and won world championships in 1974, 1985, 1986, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005.
[3] In the 2009 season, she entered the NFR ranked third in the world standings, but finished fourth with earnings of $156,153.
[3] In the 2010 season, Fred's owner Ron Martin became obligated to sell the horse, leaving Burger without a ride.
Mary and Mo finished the 2015 season ranked 77th in the world standings, not high enough to get into many of the big rodeos.
[3] Burger had 39 rodeos and almost $100,000 in earnings this year prior to attending the Calgary Stampede in March.
In fact, she won the maximum amount of money available to any given contestant at Calgary, $122,000, of which $72,000 counted towards the World Standings.
[10] On Sunday, March 20, Burger and her horse Mo ran the barrels in the finals at the Calgary Stampede.
Burger claims she knew it was going to rain before they even got to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and she had run him in the mud beforehand a few times to prepare him.
[10] Burger won against other barrel racing notables like Mary Walker, Lisa Lockhart, and Jackie Ganter in the Championship Round around to win the grand prize.
[14] The 67 year old barrel racer was constantly told by her fans that she is an inspiration to them due to her age.
[13] On Friday, July 28, at Cheyenne Frontier Days, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at the Cinch Shootout Rodeo, Burger and her horse Mo, competed at Frontier Park and won the barrel racing event.
[17] When Burger and Mo tipped a barrel in the 10th Round on the final day, they left the door open for three other competitors: Moore, Sherry Cervi, and Lisa Lockhart.
She slid by reserve world champion Amberleigh Moore by less than $11,000, which would typically be "a fourth-place check in any go-round" in Las Vegas.
Even with Mo having a soft tissue injury, the horse came through for her as his vet was at the event and monitoring him every day.
[19] Mo was recognized when he was named the runner-up to AQHA/WPRA Horse of the Year CFour Tibbie Sinson.
The record holder at that time was still 59-year-old Ike Rude, who won the steer roping championship in 1953.
[3][22][23] Burger set a new record in 2016 by becoming the oldest WPRA qualifier to the NFR at 68 years, 4 months old.
She set the new record with a bit more than two months left before the regular season ended on September 30.
In fact, she and her horse, Mo, won more money than any other competitor in the PRCA or the WPRA in the 2016 season.
[27][28] The horse who Burger won her first World Barrel Racing Champion title on in 2006 was a sorrel gelding whose registered name is Rare Fred, nicknamed Fred, and he was 12 years old at the time of her world championship in 2006.
Mary trained and rode Fred, but he was owned by Ron Martin of Seal Beach, California.
[8] In 2010, Burger's rodeo season was disrupted when Fred's owner, Ron Martin, was obligated to sell him to another party.
[1] The horse who Burger won her second World Barrel Racing Champion title in 2016 on was a buckskin gelding whose registered name is SadiesFamousLastWords, nicknamed Mo.
When Burger saw Mo, she recognized his talent and made an open trade for him with Brad Leiblong, a futurity trainer and horse trader.
[3] Mo was 2 years old when she found him, and she quickly traded for him with the registration papers coming straight to her.
"[2] Mo finished second to the AQHA/WPRA Barrel Racing Horse of the Year CFour Tibbie Stinson in 2016.
Mary Burger still lives in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma,[2] where she trains horses for futurity racing.
[3] Burger trained her barrel horses, such as Fred and Mo, with a pole bending pattern and without any arena fences.