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For almost as long as she can remember, Callie duPerier Apffel was bouncing from rodeo to rodeo across the U.S. and Canada, chasing a dream. DuPerier Apffel, 23, grew up on trail horses and began barrel racing when she was 13. For her, riding and racing fit like boots and jeans -- despite the fact shes allergic to both horses and hay and has to take medication because of it.I probably went to thousands of races as kid, she says. I cant even count how many times Ive gone to a barrel race or how many times Ive ridden around barrels.From the moment she was introduced, she was hooked. I love horses, so being able to do that on your horse, I thought it was really cool, she says. The adrenaline rush she felt was more intense than from any other sport.Racers go as fast as possible in a cloverleaf pattern through three barrels -- trying hard not to knock over a barrel (a five-second penalty). Races usually last between 13 and 20 seconds.DuPerier Apffel started a few years later than most girls but learned quickly. As a high school senior she won the Womens Professional Rodeo Association junior world title. After three years in college, she set her sights on one goal: to win the National Finals Rodeo world title.Trip duPerier has traveled the country with his daughter, helped her strategize before races and bought her the horses -- a wide variety -- that helped teach her to ride. He says Callie is humble and calm -- but shes also extremely competitive and athletic. She dont look it on the outside, but she and me both, we do not like to lose, he says, laughing.He recalls how she played volleyball, basketball, ran track and was a cheerleader at little Medina High School outside San Antonio. He says in one hurdles race, she fell down on the second-to-last hurdle, but got back up and won. At one point, when she injured her knee and couldnt run, she entered the shot put -- and made the state championship. She went out for basketball for the first time as a senior, scored a bunch of points and even pulled off a reverse layup without ever having practiced the shot.Everybody was saying, Where did she come up with that? Trip says.At the same time, she was competing in high school rodeo. With her dad in her corner, many weekends were a blur. There would be times when he would pick me up from school or pick me up from a volleyball tournament and Id sleep the whole way to the rodeo, and then hed wake me up and Id hop on and run.She was torn between playing college volleyball and going on the rodeo circuit after high school, but decided to play volleyball at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter did well -- she ranks No. 3 on the schools list for most points in a season -- but suffered a shoulder injury that prompted her to leave college and pursue rodeo after three seasons.Her quest became to qualify for National Finals Rodeo and win the world title. To do that, shed have to crisscross the country, entering rodeos here, there and everywhere to earn enough money to be among the top 15 earners invited to the annual NFR event in Las Vegas.Its a tough and expensive task, but Callie and Trip were committed to it. It meant long drives and plane rides, sometimes trailering two horses at a time (they hired a driver) so theyd have horses at different venues at the same time, and the support of shoers, veterinarians, other riders and the whole duPerier family. Callie might have to be in Oakdale, Utah, one night and St. Paul, Oregon, the next. A victory could be worth a few hundred dollars or several thousand. It was a marathon.Wed be like in Tupelo, Mississippi, and in 16 hours youve got to be at the southern tip of Florida, and youre driving 75, 80 the whole way and you step out of your trailer, you saddle your horse and theyre calling your name, Trip recalls.Her first full season of 2014 she competed in 85 events and finished 25th in earnings. But she was No. 3 among Womens Pro Rodeo Association rookies. In 2015, she entered 100 events and was No. 1 in money earned -- and qualified for Vegas.Going into the 10-round, three-day NFR competition, Callie and Trip had a plan: be consistent, dont hit barrels and keep advancing and winning money. She decided to focus on each race without thinking about cumulative times or earnings. I was like, Yeah, I can make 10 clean runs on [my horse] Dillon. And thank goodness it happened, she says.At the end of 10 runs, her aggregate time was 140.41 seconds, .34 less than the next rider. That gave her the average title for that competition and $67,269 in prize money, which vaulted her to the top of the season money list at $303,846. She had become world champion.I got to do a victory lap because I had won the average, but I had no idea that I had won the world, she says. So I did my victory lap and was waving and got off and they were talking to me and telling me congratulations, and I still thought Id just won the average. Then when I was about to do an interview, they said something about winning the world, and I was like, Wait, I won? ... I started crying and said, I have to tell my dad. Being a numbers guy, Trip already knew, even if she didnt. He also knew that the long run to a championship was both satisfying and expensive. I bet it cost us about 150 [thousand dollars] to make 300, he says.After winning that title last year, duPerier Apffel decided 2016 would be the perfect time to rein in the pro career. She had a wedding to plan in May and moved to Galveston, Texas, where her husband, Kaleb, operates a lumber yard. Instead of spending months on the road and galloping around barrels, shes organizing and decorating their home and hunting and fishing with Kaleb. For once, she has free time.She has competed in several events of the new Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) League of Rodeo Champions, even winning the first one in Oregon in April and taking second at the next stop in Idaho. Yet she admits shes not all-in the way she has been in the past. She has other priorities, like staying close to home and maybe starting a family. She has no desire to live out of a suitcase anymore. But its hard to keep a world champion barrel racer out of the saddle.When shes asked if rodeo -- perhaps on a smaller scale -- might always be a part of her life, she says yes. I dont plan on fully quitting, because its fun, she says. I love it. I like the rush of riding. CLEVELAND -- Robert Griffin III returned from injury but couldnt keep Cleveland from falling closer to infamy as the Cincinnati Bengals built a big early lead and held off the winless Browns 23-10 on Sunday in the snow.Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes to Tyler Eifert as the Bengals (5-7-1) kept their playoff chances pulsating for another week.Griffin started for the first time since getting hurt in the opener. He couldnt produce a win for the Browns (0-13).RG3 did score on a 1-yard sneak in the third quarter, but the Browns lost their 16th straight dating to Dec. 13 last season. Cleveland has lost 23 of 24 and 31 of 34 since the end of 2014.The Browns have three games left to avoid joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the NFLs only 0-16 teams.Griffin finished 12 of 28 for 104 yards. Isaiah Crowell was a bright spot for Cleveland, rushing for 113 yards on 10 carries.Dalton, who has had some of his best games against Cleveland, connected twice in the first half with Eifert as the Bengals bullied the NFLs worst team for 30 minutes.The Browns battled back in the second half, getting within 10 in the fourth period before Cincinnatis Mike Nugent kicked a 44-yard field goal with 8:38 left.Cincinnati has some work to do and needs plenty of help to make the postseason for the sixth straight year. The Bengals entered Sunday 2 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh and Baltimore in the AFC North, and another loss would finish off them.For the Browns, the 2016 season cant end soon enough.The Browns had another moment to symbolize their lost season when their Brownie The Elf mascot slipped on the sideline and fell while trying to retrieve a ball that bounced out of bounds following a punt.Even without star wide receiver A.J. Green, the Bengals sucked the life out of the Browns and any strong-stomached Cleveland fans willing to brave the cold in this calamitous season by scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter.Cincinnati took the opening kickoff and drove 73 yards as Dalton conneected with Eifert for a 14-yard TD.dddddddddddd After the Browns punted, Jeremy Hills 1-yard plunge capped Cincinnatis second possession to make it 13-0 -- Nugents extra point was blocked -- and it became very clear the Bengals had not overlooked the Browns, who were coming off their bye week and were as healthy as theyve been all season.Daltons second TD to Eifert, a 5-yard pass on third down, put the Bengals up 20-0.Meanwhile, the Browns did little right. They committed two penalties on their first series and Griffin forced a deep pass on a flea-flicker into triple coverage that was picked off.He finished the opening half with a 0.00 passer rating -- another row of zeroes for the Browns.DUBIOUS COMPANYThe Browns are making history with every loss. They are the seventh team since 1962 to start 0-13, joining the 08 Lions, 1980 Saints, 1976 Buccaneers, 2011 Colts, 2007 Dolphins and 1962 Raiders.NUGENTS AIMNugents accuracy remains a major issue. The 11-year veteran missed another PAT, his sixth this season, in the first quarter.The snap appeared low and Nugent kicked the ball into the back of Cincinnatis line. The Browns recovered and made several laterals during an entertaining attempt at a failed 2-point defensive conversion.Nugent later missed a 36-yard field goal attempt and is 23 of 29.LONDON BOUNDThe Browns will play in London next season, the teams first visit to England since playing an exhibition game there in 1989.The NFL has increased its commitment to the United Kingdoms market and will have four games in London next season. Its not known yet if the Browns will be giving up a home game to make the trip.A league spokesman said an official announcement will be made Tuesday.UP NEXT:Bengals: Host Pittsburgh on Dec. 18Browns: At B