A Cottonwood woman and her horse have both reached the very highest point in the sport of barrel racing. Nicknamed “Sister”, the 9-year-old Blue Roan was named Barrel Horse Of The Year by the American Quarter Horse Association earlier this year. This month Sister carried Nellie Williams-Miller to the Gold Buckle at the Wranglers National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Williams-Miller was born and raised in Cottonwood and the horse was bred, raised, broke and trained by her father Sam Williams. Nellie has ridden Sister almost exclusively in the dozens of rodeos in which she’s competed. Nellie rode in high school and college rodeos on Sister’s mother, a horse named Reba. Nellie’s husband is the manager of the Red Bluff Round Up.