Carlee Otero is poised to enter her fifth NFR in the No. 7 position with $168,493 and two mares on her roster she believes give her a strong chance at No. 1; AM Regina George “Regina” and Cathys Kandy “Twix.”
But the month before the NFR wasn’t what Otero, or anybody else expected, with an EHV-1 outbreak shuttering jackpots that provide top-level competitors chances to hone both themselves and their horses for the tight confines of the Thomas & Mack Arena.
“I was trying to make one run a week, and then the EHV-1 outbreak hit,” Otero said. “It put all of us on lockdown. My horses came out of quarantine [Tuesday] with their negative tests, and now I’m finally ready to have my first run.”
But even with the disruption, Otero enters the 2025 NFR with a veteran mentality, two horses she believes will fit the setup and a deep support system.
Long before she was a million-dollar cowgirl with multiple NFR qualifications, Otero was a Nevada kid following her mother, Danita Walker, from jackpot to jackpot. Walker excelled in the youth and high school ranks, and though she treated barrel racing as a hobby after Otero was born, she passed down horsemanship, timing, and a love for the sport that shaped Otero’s future.
It didn’t take long for Otero to start creating a legacy of her own. The horse that defined her early career was Rare Dillon, the gritty gelding who carried her to her first two NFR qualifications. She later called on the talents of Streakin Perks Fool (“Tiny”) and Streakin Easy April (“Lolo”) to earn her 2014 NFR qualification—making her a three-time NFR athlete early in her career, before life pulled her onto a different path.
Between building a family with her husband, PRCA tie-down roper Michael Otero, and establishing a real estate business, Otero stepped away from full-time rodeo for nearly a decade. But she never stopped believing she’d be back.
“As much as I wanted to be out there trying to make the Finals, sometimes you just have to be patient,” Otero said. “I knew eventually it was going to come back around.”
She returned in 2024 on Blingolena (“Sly”)—who is in Las Vegas again this year as a backup—marking a comeback that was 10 years in the making. It wasn’t without its bumps, either, when she suffered a kick ahead of Round 5 that fractured her pelvis. Miraculously, Otero went on to complete the NFR.
Now, fully healthy and surging with two remarkable mares, Otero arrives at the 2025 Finals with a career that feels full-circle.
The woman who once leaned on Rare Dillon to make her early NFR dreams come true is now bringing entirely new horsepower into the Thomas & Mack—horses that weren’t even in her program a year ago but now define her 2025 story.
She plans to begin the Finals aboard Regina, a palomino mare with quick, compact footwork.
“Regina has really quick turns, but she’s very forgiving,” Otero said. “If I get tight, she lets me move her around. I really think the setup is going to do her a lot of justice.”
Regina’s journey is a testament to timing. Originally trained by Brittany Hill and owned by Otero’s longtime friend Gary Leffew, Regina spent time as a ranch horse before Otero was encouraged to try her. What started as a trial run turned into a partnership; Otero ultimately purchased the mare after hauling her for a month.
“If she were human, she’d be that perfect female everyone’s jealous of,” Otero joked. “Kind, pretty, athletic—she has all the tools.”
Midway through the Finals, Otero plans to switch to Twix, a tall Kandyman daughter she found through Kentucky jockey and barrel racer Summer Pauly.
“She hadn’t been rodeoed at all,” Otero said. “She’s totally different than my others—tall, skinny, different style. I went out on a limb and prayed about it, and it worked.”
What’s miraculous is how quickly both mares found rhythm.
“Around Reno, they both just started winning,” Otero said. “I could literally pick whichever horse I wanted. I feel like I was in God’s favor. He put those two girls in my hands.”
And while Otero brings veteran wisdom into Las Vegas, this will be an entirely new experience for her horses.
“Even though I’ve been there, these two girls have never been,” Otero said. “I can help them get their jitters out.”
2025: A Career Year in Every Way
Otero’s fifth NFR Qualification coincides with the strongest regular season of her career—a year built on resilience, horsepower, and the kind of timing only faith can explain.
Early in the season, she won Denver aboard Leroy, setting a positive tone before Sly sustained his spring injury. When uncertainty crept in, Regina and Twix stepped up. They carried her to a run of victories across the West that cemented her as a top-10 athlete.
Her 2025 highlights include:
- Crossing the $1 million mark in career earnings
- Winning the gold medal at the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo (Salt Lake City)
- Being named Utah Pioneer Week Top Hand for earning the most of any WPRA member at Salt Lake, Ogden, and Spanish Fork
- Winning the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo (Denver)
- Wins at Delta, UT; That Famous Preston Night Rodeo (ID); and Moses Lake, WA
- Co-champion at Lehi, UT
- Second-place finishes at California Rodeo Salinas and Kingman, AZ
“I truly think I have a chance at the gold buckle,” Otero said. “One go-round win can put me right where I need to be.”
Family, Faith and a Gold-Carpet Proposal
While the NFR brings the highest pressure of the year for most competitors, the Oteros—orbiting between competition, family, and business—seem to thrive in the chaos. Their two young boys Hudson and Houston are “road trip veterans” who treat the summer run like a family adventure. Her older children help keep everything afloat at home, alongside Carlee’s mom, sister, and real estate team.
“It takes a complete team,” Otero said. “My family, my clients—everyone steps in. I’m so thankful.”
And this year, their NFR week became even more special when Carlee’s son Kale Pierce proposed to his girlfriend on the gold carpet before the Back Number Ceremony.
As she looks to ten rounds inside the Thomas & Mack with two first-timers, Otero balances gratitude with quiet confidence.
“I’m very thankful for the WPRA, the PRCA, and people like you who are making our sport huge,” she said. “We’re all benefiting from it.”