Updated Aug. 4: This projection now includes every completed rodeo from the week: Abilene (Wild Bill Hickok), Dick Stull, West Yellowstone and Winfield, plus the unofficial Strathmore, AB results (via Lipstick N Cowboy Boots). Now expanded to the top 30. The official WPRA world standings posted Aug. 4 and confirmed this projection nearly to the dollar — including the $328 gap between Summer Kosel and Tricia Aldridge on the NFR bubble.
The barrel racing world title race did not change hands over the first week of August, but the week underneath the leaders did more to shape the 2026 National Finals field than any run at the top.
Dodge City, Castle Rock, Heber City and a full slate of summer rodeos paid out better than a quarter-million dollars in barrel money, Sydney Graham broke into the $100,000 club, and the fight for a National Finals spot tightened all the way down the board.
Gibson-Stillwell holds, Otero makes her move
Hayle Gibson-Stillwell remains the woman to beat. She added three checks on the week, cashing at Heber City, Preston and Idaho Falls, and stretched her projected world-standings lead. Hailey Kinsel and defending world champion Kassie Mowry hold second and third, close enough that a good weekend flips them but far enough back of Gibson-Stillwell that the top spot is hers to lose.
The mover at the top was Carlee Otero. Otero cashed a check at all five of the week’s marquee stops, banked $11,394 on pure consistency, and slid past Emily Beisel into a projected fourth. It was the quietest big week anyone had, and it may be the most instructive: at this stage of the season, showing up everywhere is important.
The single biggest run of the week belonged to Sydney Graham, who won Heber City for $7,740 aboard Dupont First, the stallion she calls Trump, then backed it up with a runner-up at Preston. Her $11,847 week pushed her over the $100,000 line and up to a projected eighth in the world.
Makenzie Mayes made her own statement at Dodge City, sweeping the second round, the short round and the average on ‘Rousey’ for $8,672 and the average title. That haul moved her up two spots to a projected 12th.
And nobody climbed further than McKenna Coronado, who won Castle Rock and placed at three more rodeos for a week-best $13,414, vaulting five spots into the top 20. Katelyn Scott quietly stacked three wins and places of her own at Sidney, Yuma and Kit Carson for $4,548.
The tightest race on the board is around the bubble, and Summer Kosel put herself right in the middle of it. Kosel led the Dodge City average through two rounds, then answered with a third-place check at Phillipsburg that pushed her week to $7,254 and lifted her into a projected 15th at $75,624.
Kosel’s number sits just $328 up on Tricia Aldridge, who had a huge week of her own. Aldridge won Idaho Falls and finished second at Heber City for $9,811, and lands right on Kosel’s heels in a projected 16th at $75,297.
Projected world standings: top 30
Unofficial projected standings start from the WPRA’s posted world standings as of July 31, available here. The table shows the math: what each rider had on the July 31 WPRA board, what she won across this week’s ProRodeo results, and WPRA’s official total as of Aug. 4. Movement is versus the posted July 31 board.
Now including unofficial Strathmore, AB, results (via Lipstick N Cowboy Boots). Official PRCA numbers may shift these figures slightly.
| # | Rider | July 31 (WPRA) | Won this week | WPRA official (Aug. 4) | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hayle Gibson-Stillwell | $174,720 | $5,021 | $179,736 | — |
| 2 | Hailey Kinsel | $164,891 | $452 | $165,344 | — |
| 3 | Kassie Mowry | $163,119 | $1,871 | $164,990 | — |
| 4 | Carlee Otero | $145,867 | $11,394 | $157,255 | ▲1 |
| 5 | Emily Beisel | $151,136 | $5,852 | $156,990 | ▼1 |
| 6 | Michelle Alley | $122,079 | $5,122 | $127,176 | — |
| 7 | Tayla Moeykens | $102,645 | $3,209 | $105,849 | — |
| 8 | Sydney Graham | $88,250 | $16,643 | $104,873 | ▲1 |
| 9 | LaTricia Duke | $96,334 | $1,484 | $97,530 | ▼1 |
| 10 | Katelyn Scott | $87,777 | $4,548 | $92,325 | — |
| 11 | Austyn Tobey | $81,183 | $5,903 | $87,086 | ▲1 |
| 12 | Megan McLeod-Sprague | $81,728 | $2,726 | $84,445 | ▼1 |
| 13 | Makenzie Mayes | $75,458 | $8,672 | $84,129 | ▲1 |
| 14 | Lisa Lockhart | $80,950 | — | $80,950 | ▼1 |
| 15 | Summer Kosel | $68,370 | $7,254 | $75,624 | ▲1 |
| 16 | Tricia Aldridge | $65,486 | $9,811 | $75,297 | ▲1 |
| 17 | Loralee Ward | $65,365 | $7,641 | $73,007 | ▲1 |
| 18 | Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi | $70,281 | $2,647 | $72,927 | ▼3 |
| 19 | Kathy Grimes | $65,139 | $3,227 | $68,366 | — |
| 20 | McKenna Coronado | $53,523 | $13,414 | $66,931 | ▲5 |
| 21 | Jana Bean | $65,106 | $220 | $65,325 | ▼1 |
| 22 | Julie Plourde | $64,791 | — | $64,791 | ▼1 |
| 23 | Gracen Harman | $56,831 | $3,072 | $59,903 | ▼1 |
| 24 | Alyssa Urbanek-Wade | $56,167 | — | $56,167 | ▼1 |
| 25 | Heather Crowley | $51,619 | $4,000 | $55,619 | ▲3 |
| 26 | Kim Squires | $47,540 | $7,202 | $54,743 | ▲10 |
| 27 | Anita Ellis | $53,620 | $330 | $53,948 | ▼3 |
| 28 | Heidi Gunderson | $53,320 | — | $53,320 | ▼2 |
| 29 | Raelin Jurgens | $48,403 | $4,061 | $52,463 | ▲6 |
| 30 | Morgan Bagnell | $52,123 | — | $52,123 | ▼3 |
Full weekly results, the running money leaders and the complete projected standings live on our August ProRodeo results tracker, updated every week as the checks clear.