A wobbly arena run?

Eh, wasn’t the first and with a full barrel racing schedule awaiting the rest of the summer, certainly won’t be the last.

The horse broke away for a short-lived bout of freedom?

No sense getting mad. Just be patient and wait for its return.

Not much shakes Laura Kleinjan.

You develop a new approach to everyday life after staring down breast cancer.

“You bet,” said the Chinook cowgirl on her life-altering battle in 2010. “It was a rough go, I’ll tell you. It put me out a couple of years.

“It made me appreciate everything a lot more.”

Kleinjan is savoring her best summer in the Northern Women’s Rodeo Association.

The barrel racing late-comer, “I’m a city girl,” she said. “No rodeo, no ag in my background … I got a late start.”

She and her husband Dennis ranch between Chinook and Havre. Kleinjan is also a medical transcriptionist, working from her rig between rodeos.

“I have no social life,” she joked.

Kleinjan’s interest was piqued by a group of people who conducted weekly barrel racing sessions.

“My first time was on a ranch horse,” she said. “I loved it out there.”

Kleinjan has broke fast this season, pocketing eight checks in the first 12 rodeos, including the last four in a row. Taking home money from Harlowton, Ennis and Choteau during the Fourth of July run stretched her earnings to $5,229, the most for any individual, male or female.

“Really good,” she said of 2026. “Amazing. I never had a horse that has a high pain threshold.”

Kleinjan is riding Roka, a 12-year-old red dun. She has been racing on the horse for four years.

“She takes pretty well to any ground,” Kleinjan said. “She’s just a four-wheeler out there.”

And like her owner, Roka overcame her share of injuries and surgeries in 2025.

“If there is trouble to be found, which she proved last summer, she will find it.”

The pair plan to pursue a hectic schedule the rest of the summer which includes East Helena and Malta this weekend.

“I would like to make the Finals,” said Kleinjan. “I look at the map and try to enter where it’s good. This makes it fun and where I can get money on my investment. I like fast horses and dressing up. And I like to win.”

Harlowton winners: Bareback, Trapper McAllister, Ronan. Saddle bronc, Brand Morgan, McAllister. Bull riding, Andy Wagner, Billings. Steer wrestling, Ben Ayre, Glendive. Tie-down roping, Trevin Baumann, Hardin. Team roping, Will Griffel-Hagan Hunter, Shepherd. Barrel racing, Faith Marshall, Belgrade. Breakaway roping, Molly Salmond, Choteau. Junior barrel racing, Sophia Neill, Cascade. Junior breakaway roping, Addison Conway, Cut Bank.

Ennis winners: Bareback, McAllister. Saddle bronc, Judd Applegate, Deer Lodge. Bull riding, Wallenstein, East Helena. Steer wrestling, Jack Cornwell, Glasgow. Tie-down roping, Pacen Buller, Glendive. Team roping, Preston Bird-Dylan Johnson. Barrel racing, Paige Johnston, Polson. Breakaway roping, Tiffany Ogren, Hysham. Junior barrel racing, Paisley Kruse, Bridger. Junior breakaway roping, Pistol Grebe, Melstone.

Choteau winners: Bareback, Trevor Kay; Saddle bronc, Jason Colclough, Libby. Bull riding, Kas Whiteman, Browning. Steer wrestling, Casey Collins, Huntley. Tie-down roping, Blaise Bolich, Belgrade. Team roping, Shawn Bird-Colten Fisher. Barrel racing, Shelby Gill. Breakaway roping, Maci DeHaan Belgrade. Junior barrel racing, Neill. Junior breakaway roping, Eash, Fortine.