1952 - 2016
By Tanya Randall
Special To Ropers Sports News
Champion barrel racer, leading horse breeder, veterinarian and devoted wife and mother Ruth (Smith) Haislip of Acampo, Calif., passed away March 13, 2016 from complications of interstitial lung disease. She was 63.
Haislip was a fierce competitor, having qualified for three National Finals Rodeos. She was compassionate about caring for all her four-legged patients, even though all who knew her can attest to her immense love of cats. Haislip was passionate about the horses she raised and her boys—her husband of 36 years Jim and their two sons Garrett and Tanner.
She possessed an undeniable fortitude to manage all aspects of her life—horses, veterinary medicine and her family. Haislip was a doer, who didn’t take no for an answer. She was an inspiration to many.
Raised in Benson, Ariz., Haislip caught the horse bug early and she hooked up with a local lady who took her under her wing and hauled her to jackpots. In 1969, she won the Queen’s Contest at the Arizona High School Finals Rodeo.
She competed in college rodeo one year while working her undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona. At U of A, she was part of their 1973 National Championship Rodeo Team and won the Miss College Rodeo title. Haislip used her remaining years of eligibility while attending veterinary school at Colorado State University and was the Rocky Mountain Region Champion Barrel Racer in 1977.
A Gold Card Member of the WPRA, Haislip first bought her card while living in Colorado and hauled with Becky Carson. After moving to California, she competed until her veterinary practice required more of her time. In the late 1990s, Haislip once again found the barrel racing spotlight with a homegrown superstar.
A negative experience after purchasing a horse with borrowed money during her undergraduate career at the University of Arizona inspired her to raise her own horses. She made the bloodlines of her great college rodeo horse the foundation of her program.
Wild N Groovy, a mare purchased from the same breeder as her college horse, would start her on the path to become a leading breeder. Her greatest offspring was Go Royal Scarlett, who would carry Haislip to three straight NFRs, from 1998 to 2000.
Started by her husband Jim and patterned by good friend and NFR qualifier Marilyn Camarillo, Scarlett was a natural born barrel horse. One of the first images of Ruth and Scarlett to appear in national barrel racing media was of her in the winner’s circle at a futurity in Morgan Hill, Calif.—her son Tanner on her hip, her oldest son Garrett on Scarlett’s back.
With two young sons a priority along with her veterinary practice, Ruth set out in 1998 with the goal of seasoning Scarlett to rodeo competition. They qualified for their first NFR that year, having only rodeoed since June. Scarlett was only 6.
Ruth and Scarlett returned to the NFR two more times in 1999 and 2000, having never gone to more than 45 rodeos a season.
Fellow barrel racer Renee George recalled hauling with Haislip. She said she was one of the most organized people—she had to be with as many irons in the fire as she had, but Christy Burleson had to chirp in that she did show up for slack at Industry once and had to borrow jeans because she forgot to bring hers.
“She had everything planned,” said George. “We would only drive so much and let those horses out. She had it exactly figured out. She knew when and where for every trip. She always planned ahead where we were going to stay so the horses could get good rest. We never stayed at rodeo grounds. We’d show up in time for the rodeo but never before then. She didn’t want to be around too early with all the commotion.
“I had so much respect for her. It was such a joy hauling with her and I learned so much, things that I’ll treasure forever. She was a wonderful person. I loved hauling with her. We used to share a lot about the Lord while we were driving. We’d stop at Target and buy a new worship tape and sing worship songs. Now if we ever got tired, she’d stop and say, ‘Now we have to put in Cher.’ I thought that was so funny, but it did keep us awake!”
By 2001, the long roundtrips to fit in big rodeos in between her practice and family had taken its toll.
Wanting to spend more time at home with all her boys, Ruth became a circuit cowgirl. She and Scarlett had won the California circuit championship from 1998 to 2001, having made nine trips to the circuit finals rodeo.
Haislip continued to be a force at the California barrel races, too, with other horses she raised out of Wild N Groovy. Ima Royal Lady Jane, Scarlett’s full sister, helped Liz Pinkston qualify for an NFR and won many races with Haislip. Oh Sweet Star, who was by AR Star, a stallion that the Haislips co-owned with Marilyn Camarillo, won a lot with Ruth as well.
After retiring Scarlett to fulltime broodmare duty in 2008, Haislip along with her husband Jim developed a powerful program around the mare much like they did her mother.
“She loved raising horses,” said Haislip’s friend Stacey Freitas. “She loved the babies. They were like her kids. She said she had to sell them when they were really young because it was too hard after they were older. She had decided to sell an older one and we made a sale video. When I asked her what she wanted the ad to say, she burst into tears. She loved all her horses.”
While she didn’t like parting with her equine children, Haislip was immensely proud of what her horses had accomplished and she didn’t want the barrel racing world to forget how great Scarlett was and miss out on how good her babies were. Haislip did her part keeping her horses in the limelight, even climbing back in the saddle herself. Now, it’s assured her breeding program will not be forgotten.
Royal Star Commander, who now belongs to the Murray family of Fort Worth, Texas, qualified Deb Guelly to the 2015 NFR. Commander, whom Ruth loved for his quirky nature and for being Scarlett’s first foal, also won the BFA Derby in record fashion and qualified for RFD-TV’s The American.
Royal And Famous was a top futurity horse for the Matthews family’s Mission Ranch in Wynne, Ark., and is now standing at stud. A Streak Of Scarlett sold at the 2015 BFA Sale for $100,000 as a yearling stallion prospect.
“That night of the sale, she was so excited,” said Jim. “She kept talking about it. She just said ‘Our program is finally starting to work.’ She just glowed.”
Ruth, herself, ran Famous Scarlett, affectionately known as Jewel. The mare reminded her so much of her great mother and the fit was instant. Ruth and Jewel qualified for the 2015 California Circuit Finals. They last competed together at the BFA World Championships in Oklahoma City.
Word of Haislip’s passing shocked the barrel racing community. Immensely private and in possession of incredible fortitude, Haislip quietly battled interstitial lung disease, which forced her retirement from the veterinary procession in the summer of 2015. Ever undaunted, Haislip continued to compete at the highest levels of barrel racing until she was forced to focus solely on her health. Just weeks before her passing, she turned down an invitation to compete at the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo.
“She was tough,” said Jim, her husband of 36 years.
Just eight days after a lung biopsy to discover Haislip’s ailment, she ran at the ACBRA Finals and won three saddles while running two of her horses Famous Scarlett (Jewel) and Frenchmans Royal Guy (Tuff).
“The surgeon had her back in six days after the biopsy to check on her and take the staples out,” recalled Jim. “He asked how she was doing and she said she was getting ready to go to Salinas. He asked, ‘For what?’ She said, ‘Well, I’m going to go to a barrel race.’ He got so mad he threw her records up in the air and walked out of the room!’”
Even in early December, when her situation was become increasingly more difficult, Haislip was looking forward to traveling “at a leisurely pace” with her husband to rodeos she had never been to before. Just this past summer, the two had taken a 3,500-mile Fourth of July run together.
“We started in Reno and went to Oakley, Utah, Cody, Red Lodge, Livingston and then did the 16- 18-hour drive to Oregon for Molalla. The heat was terrible. We laughed and said we may have well stayed in Arizona. Next year let’s just do Window Rock and Prescott. We sat in the truck and had fun, and kind of got to re-know each other. Even the three days we spent in the truck to Oklahoma City in December…it was a lot of fun.”
A force of nature, Ruth was one of those rare individuals who was moving 90 miles an hour while standing still. She leaves behind a winning legacy through her family and the horses she raised.
“Ruth was one of our greats,” said past WPRA President Carolyn Vietor. “She did it all, a wife and mother of two boys, a practicing veterinarian, and many times NFR contestant, all at the same time. She was an amazing woman, who gave it all at whatever she did. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, but her legacy will live on through the great horses that she and her husband, Jim, raised. So sad to see her leave so soon.”
A Streak Of Scarlett sold at the 2015 BFA Sale for $100,000 as a yearling stallion prospect this past December in Oklahoma City. Jim and Ruth Haislip were so proud of this son of Go Royal Scarlett.