PROFiles: The Kassie Mowry Story
Kassie Mowry’s rise to the top of barrel racing did not come quickly, and it did not come by accident. Long before world titles and gold buckles, Mowry built her career as a trainer, learning how to develop horses correctly and earning trust inside established programs before launching one of her own. That path has […]
#NFRWrapped: 2025 NFR Summarized for Top 16 Barrel Racers
No. 1 — Kassie Mowry Entered the NFR: No. 1Finished the season: No. 1Total earnings: $403,881.76Total NFR earnings: $200,436.76Average finish: 4th ($44,356.39) Kassie Mowry held the top spot from start to finish by pairing go-round wins with steady top-four finishes. She won two go-rounds on two different horses, opening the Finals by winning Round 1 and later winning Round 6. Beyond those wins, Mowry finished second […]
Rollercoaster Ride: Julie Plourde Goes From No. 16 to 2025 NFR Aggregate Champion
Julie Plourde won the National Finals Rodeo barrel racing average with a 139.67 on 10, earning $94,035.54 aboard Wateverock RC (“Rocky”), a backup horse she purchased earlier this year. Called into the NFR field just days before the Finals began, Plourde stepped in as a replacement after finishing 16th in the WPRA World Standings when Anita Ellis, No. 8 in the […]
PROFiles: The Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi Story
Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi has remained competitive at the highest level of barrel racing for more than two decades, doing so on multiple horses and across different eras of the sport. A three-time WPRA World Champion and an 18-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, Pozzi Tonozzi first made the NFR in 2003 and has continued qualifying across […]
PROFile: The Emily Beisel Story
Emily Beisel entered the 2025 National Finals Rodeo ranked No. 3 in the world, qualifying for her seventh NFR (2019–2025) and arriving with a program that has rarely been built around one horse, one setup or one way of doing things. Beisel’s biography reads like a steady climb. She didn’t grow up in a rodeo […]
Kassie Mowry Defends WPRA World Championship With 2025 Repeat Despite Adversity
Kassie Mowry authored one of the most complete and disciplined National Finals Rodeo performances in modern barrel racing history to secure her second WPRA World Championship. Mowry finished the 2025 season with more than $403,000 in earnings, including $200,481 won at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, successfully defending the No. 1 position she carried into Las Vegas […]
Carlee Otero and Regina Cap Off NFR With Four Go-Round Wins, $156K Earned
Carlee Otero picked up momentum at the National Finals Rodeo in 2025 aboard AM Regina George, and just kept gaining steam as the week rolled on. One night after winning Round 9, Otero came back in the final performance and clocked a 13.28-second run aboard AM Regina George to win Round 10, giving her back-to-back […]
Who Can Still Win the Barrel Racing World Championship?
With one round left to run at the 2025 National Finals Rodeo, the barrel racing world title is still mathematically open—but only three women have realistic paths to the gold buckle: Kassie Mowry, Tricia Aldridge and Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi. Here’s how Round 10 could shake out, and what each rider would need to walk out of […]
Fetch Happened: Carlee Otero Scores Her Third Win of the Week on AM Regina George
Carlee Otero and AM Regina George delivered one of the fastest runs ever clocked inside the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday night, posting a 13.20 to win Round 9 and set a new go-round record. The victory marked Otero’s third round win of the 2025 NFR, solidifying the 7-year-old mare’s status as one of the brightest young stars in the sport. Team Equinety […]
Undeniable: Adios Pantalones and Tricia Aldridge Earn NFR Round Win No. 2
Tricia Aldridge and Adios Pantalones delivered another defining performance at the 2025 NFR, stopping the clock in 13.64 to win Round 8 and add a second round victory to their remarkable debut campaign inside the Thomas & Mack. From the back of the infamous tunnel Aldridge could watch most of the performance unfold. She could see horses ahead of her struggling with […]
What’s the Deal? The Real Dirt on the NFR Footing
After six nights of consistent footing inside the Thomas & Mack Center, the ground took a visible turn in Rounds 7 and 8, raising concerns among contestants and drawing attention to the most high-stakes playing surface in rodeo. Several horses slipped or lost traction on Wednesday and Thursday, prompting immediate response from the WPRA and the […]
Secret Recipe: The ‘Cornbread’ Story
When reigning World Champion Kassie Mowry reached out just over a week before the NFR and asked if she could bring Heavens Got Credit, Mindy Holloway didn’t hesitate. She said yes, packed her bags, and committed herself to making sure the 11-year-old gelding — “Cornbread” — had every chance to succeed on the biggest stage of […]
Dreams Do Come True: Hayle Gibson-Stillwell and Homegrown Buncha Dinero Win NFR Round 7
Hayle Gibson-Stillwell earned her first NFR win in Round 7 of her rookie showing inside the Thomas & Mack aboard Buncha Dinero, knocking a lifetime goal off her bucket list. Hayle Gibson-Stillwell put together her best run of the NFR so far, stopping the clock in 13.45 aboard Buncha Dinero (“Piper”) to win Round 7 and earn $36,667.95. The victory also marked a […]
Cornbread’s In Da House: Mowry Notches Second Round Win on Second Horse of the NFR
Kassie Mowry and Heavens Got Credit, “Cornbread,” ran together Wednesday night inside the Thomas & Mack, stopping the clock in 13.42 to win Round 6 of the 2025 National Finals Rodeo. The victory added $36,667.95 to Mowry’s season earnings and tightened the world standings race as the NFR enters its final stretch. Cornbread, owned by Mindy Holloway and only recently added to […]
PROFile: The Hailey Kinsel Story
A four-time WPRA World Champion with over $2,622,303 and climbing in WPRA earnings at just 31 years old, Hailey Kinsel’s career has been defined by precision, discipline and the once-in-a-generation partnership she built with DM Sissy Hayday (“Sister”), the winningest barrel horse of all time. Raised on her family’s cattle ranch in Cotulla, Texas, Kinsel grew […]