By Wednesday, Tricia Phillips may already be pulling a horse trailer toward Coffeyville.
Inside is Zona, her thirteen-year-old palomino quarter horse. Tyra Jean, her five-year-old blue heeler, is along for the ride, too, tongue hanging out as she keeps watch over the truck and trailer. Around her neck is a tooled leather collar that matches Tricia's belt.
During the summer, one barrel race can lead to another, Wednesday through Saturday. The trailer has living quarters because sometimes the road between home and the next arena becomes home for the night. It is a rhythm she has known most of her life.
She was ten years old when her parents bought her first horse, a young paint named Joe. He was green, she remembers, not yet trained as a barrel horse. She was learning, too.
Her parents hauled her to junior rodeos in Ochelata, Pawhuska and other towns across Oklahoma. During the school year, rodeos filled the weekends. In summer, the schedule could stretch to seven days a week. Her dad worked shifts and couldn't always be there, but both parents were part of her rodeo years, and some of the young competitors she met became lifelong friends.
More than three decades later, Joe is 31 years old, enjoying his days at the Phillips' ranch. His rodeo days are behind him now, but the friendship remains.
“When a horse trusts you, they can become your best friend if they want to be.”
Years of riding and training have taught her to notice the small things: a horse's eyes widening when it is frightened, its ears becoming alert, even the way it might begin backing away.
A Childhood Built Around Doing
Growing up on ten acres in Copan, Oklahoma, meant being surrounded by family, animals and many of the same friends she had known since grade school.
“We were all great friends.”
There was softball, with both of her parents involved. There were family deer hunts and days spent outdoors. In junior high and high school, she showed sheep and cattle through 4-H and FFA. Horses remained a constant.
As a little girl, she imagined becoming a veterinarian. She loved animals, loved raising them and especially loved training horses. The idea of someday having to euthanize an animal changed her mind, but her fascination with training never left.
She loved watching the moment when an animal began to understand what was being asked of it.
“It's like a kid. You can see their disposition change ... when they finally learn, ‘This is what I am being asked to do.’”
Progress appeals to her. So do goals and watching someone discover what they are capable of doing.
An Entrepreneur by Nature
Those instincts eventually followed her into work. She earned her cosmetology license through Tri County Tech, later became a licensed real estate agent and continued her education at Rogers State University before graduating from Oklahoma Wesleyan University with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting.
“I've always been an entrepreneur.”
Mary Kay entered her life for a much simpler reason. A woman she knew was trying to reach a goal and asked her to join her team.
She agreed to help, with the added benefit that she and her mother could receive a discount on products. Building a Mary Kay business wasn't the plan. In fact, for nearly a year, she didn't do much with it.
Then she began working the business a few days a week.
At the time, much of Mary Kay happened face-to-face in people's homes, and those few hours could generate meaningful income. On some occasions, she could earn as much as $2,500 from a single show. For someone in her early twenties, that got her attention. “I started to help a lady out, and I stayed because the money is great.”
More than sixteen years later, the financial opportunity is still real. But when she talks about what she enjoys most about the work, the conversation doesn't stay on money for long.It turns to the women, their goals and what happens when someone begins to believe she can reach one.
When Success Becomes Someone Else's
The goals haven't stopped. She keeps visual reminders of what she is working toward where she can see them and encourages other women to do the same.
“Goal setting in life is a gift.”
Her achievements are easy to see. Over the years, she has qualified for ten Mary Kay cars and earned repeated Queen's Court of Sharing recognition. The pink Chanel jacket, diamond bee pins and other recognition represent milestones along the way.
They are a striking contrast to the other Tricia: jeans, horses, a trailer with living quarters and Tyra Jean tagging along.
Both belong to her.
“People see the hype. They don't always see the process. There are steps required.” Ask what keeps women in the business, though, and she doesn't talk about cars or diamonds.
“Those who stay, it is confidence,” she says. “They see they reach their goals.”
Years of leading women have changed her, too. If someone wants to build her business, she is willing to work alongside her, whether that means going into the field together, talking by phone or meeting through Zoom. Experience has also taught her that helping someone doesn't always begin with advice.
“Listen more than coach. The majority of people just want to be heard.”
For a woman who readily describes herself as driven, learning when to listen has become part of the work. She also knows what it means to have people beside you when you are working toward something difficult.
The People Who Believed First
She had those people early.
Her parents loaded horses, drove countless miles and spent weekends, and sometimes entire summer weeks, helping a daughter who wanted to rodeo.
Family wasn't the only source of strength she would carry into adulthood. Faith was there, too.
Growing up, she attended a small church in Bowring, where her uncle was the pastor. Faith had been part of her life from childhood.
In her early twenties, a friend invited her to City Church in Bartlesville on Easter. The worship and preaching connected with her in a new way. City Church became her church home and, in the years ahead, a place where she would find friendship, counsel and support.
She had watched her mother rely on faith when her father suffered a heart attack: “You pray your way through it.”
There would be times when she had to do the same. She lost a horse in a freak accident. A long-term relationship ended abruptly. There were periods when panic and discouragement became overwhelming. Women from her church listened, counseled and helped her through some of those experiences.
“I don't know how people make it without faith.”
A friend gave her a copy of Jesus Calling when she was in her twenties. She still uses the devotional every morning, reading, praying and reflecting before the day's goals and appointments take over.
“Spend the first ten minutes being at peace. It makes a difference.”
She has since bought copies for other people in her life.
Still Running
And she still barrel races.
Today, the horse beneath her is Zona, a palomino quarter horse whose golden coat is hard to miss. Her parents still come when they can. Friends still gather around the arena. Tyra Jean goes wherever she goes, fiercely protective of the truck and trailer and rarely far from her feet.
The rodeo circuit and the pink Chanel jacket may seem to belong to different worlds. For her, there is room for both.
Neither happened without the work behind it. There are still goals to reach, friendships to nurture and other women finding out what they are capable of doing.
These days, much of her satisfaction comes from watching other women take those steps for themselves. The woman who once signed up for Mary Kay to help someone else reach a goal now spends much of her time helping women reach their own.
When asked what she hopes the people who know her best remember about her someday, she doesn't mention the recognition, the cars or the diamond bees. She hopes they remember that she worked hard, that she was fair and faithful. And that, on any given day, she tried to “shine God's light on someone.”
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About Tricia Phillips
Tricia Phillips is an entrepreneur, Mary Kay Independent Sales Director, licensed real estate agent and lifelong horsewoman from Copan, Oklahoma. She began barrel racing at age ten and continues to compete today. Over more than sixteen years with Mary Kay, Tricia has qualified for ten company cars, earned repeated Queen's Court of Sharing recognition and finds particular fulfillment in helping women develop confidence and reach their goals. While working in real estate and building her Mary Kay business, Tricia earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. She is also a licensed cosmetologist. Her faith, family and love of horses remain central to her life.
About Angie Thompson
Angie Thompson is a Bartlesville-based writer, storyteller, fundraising strategist and creative consultant. Through Angie Thompson Consulting, she helps individuals and purpose-driven organizations discover and communicate the stories that build connection, inspire generosity and create meaningful impact. She is the creator of The Work Worth Doing: Women Who Say Yes to the Spark, a storytelling series celebrating women whose choices, courage and commitment have shaped their lives and the lives of others.
Story & Permissions
This story is based on a personal interview and reflections shared by Tricia Phillips and is published with permission. Images provided by Tricia are used with permission.
© 2026 Angie Thompson Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved. To republish or excerpt this story, please contact Angie@AngieThompsonConsulting.com for permission.