Halyn Lide will enter the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo ranked No. 9 in the WPRA World Standings with $144,614.31 earned across 74 rodeos.
The China Spring, Texas cowgirl secured her second consecutive NFR berth behind one of the strongest late-season pushes in the field, and she did it on the home-raised gelding who has defined every major turning point in her career.
A First-Generation Beginning
Lide didn’t grow up in a rodeo family. She grew up in Waco, and everything she knows about rodeo, she learned from the outside into the industry.
“I had to beg my parents for my first horse,” she said. “They were diehard Aggie football fans. If there was a football game, that’s where I was, not at the rodeo. I didn’t know how entering worked, didn’t know how points worked. I had to learn it all on my own.”
Her first real barrel horse came from former WPRA President, Jimmie Munroe’s family. Her second major horse, Zeros Gypst Jet, shaped her in ways she didn’t appreciate until years later. “She was a lot of horse for me,” Lide said. “She was so talented. And if we didn’t hit barrels, we placed.”
That mare ended up becoming the foundation for everything that came next, including producing Jettin Ta Heaven.
Raising Keeper
Jettin Ta Heaven, known simply as Keeper, was bred and raised by Lide. She raised him, started him, and built every step of the process with intention. With an A-team of supporters and mentors to lean on along the way, it was a team effort to get Keeper to the winner’s circle. But once he got the hang of things, there was no looking back for the naturally confident horse.
“Keeper took to rodeos naturally,” she said. “Nothing ever bothered him. He was never spooky, never looky. Mentally, he’s always been there.”
Keeper’s a true rodeo horse, thriving off the varied conditions.
“He definitely prefers the atmosphere (at rodeos),” she said. “He’s never clocked as good at jackpots. He’s just a rodeo horse. He thrives with pressure. The more nervous I am, the more he enjoys taking over.”
Keeper missed nearly two full years with an injury. Lide wasn’t sure if he’d ever return to full form. But when he did, he came back stronger.
“He knows after he’s been somewhere before,” she said. “He knows exactly where the barrels are. When I ride him, I feel like he has more confidence than I do.”
Her First NFR — 2024
Lide qualified for her first NFR in 2024 after making the decision to stay out through August for the first time in her life.
“We just kind of winged it,” she said. “Two kids, all over the country, trying to figure out who needed to be where. It was chaos. But Keeper loves big atmospheres, so I kept entering.”
Her late mentor, John Brown, encouraged her every step. “I think he helps me keep my barrels up sometimes,” she said.
The 2025 Campaign
This year required even more grit.
She planned for two rigs to lighten Keeper’s load — but plans fell apart. “Sometimes things don’t work out,” Lide said. “Keeper ended up running more than I intended.”
The mid-season stretch was brutal mentally.
“It was brutal,” she said. “We were placing. We were doing our job. But we weren’t moving.”
She never quit because Keeper never quit.
“I couldn’t quit. They were still placing. They were still trying.”
Lide entered 74 rodeos and made every one count.
Throughout the year, Lide found ways to push herself as a competitor.
“I had the opportunity to ride Shark and Tottie, both owned by Lindsay Hurley,” she said. “It was my first experience riding somebody’s horses that weren’t mine, and learning to love them like mine. I learned how to succeed with other teammates. Those were great horses with a desire to win.’
(Little did like know how well those lessons would serve her at her upcoming 2025 NFR appearance.)
Governor’s Cup
Everything shifted in September.
Lide entered Sioux Falls after cleaning up in Puyallup just weeks before, knowing she needed more than $4,000 to hang on to her NFR position. She squeaked into the eight-man round and decided she wasn’t going to force the run.
“I didn’t make it be perfect — I just let it go,” she said. “That’s how we kept the barrels up.”
Keeper understood the setup immediately.
“He knows where everything is in there. He always has more confidence than I do.”
When she won, her two sons were there and made the moment unforgettable.
“They didn’t know there was going to be a trophy,” Lide said. “They were so excited. It was the sweetest thing.”
She nearly doubled her season earnings in the final month.
“It was a pretty good September,” she said with a laugh. Keeper added nearly $70,000 in the last stretch alone.
Her Team
Her husband, Aaron—a former bronc rider and current veterinarian with his own practice— builds their game plan.
“He planned our first summer run. He picked rodeos he liked the idea of,” she said. “He’s such a big part of this.”
Her two boys haul well, love the road and fit into the rodeo lifestyle naturally.
Her sister-in-law is 2025 NFR qualifier Katelyn Scott, ranked No. 15. “We have opposite styles as competitors,” Lide said. “It’s going to be so fun to cheer her on out here.”
For now, despite Keeper staying home with an EHV-1 diagnosis, Lide’s just happy to have the chance to make 10 runs with uncertainty on the horizon.
“I’m just grateful we get to do this again,” she said. “Keeper earned it. I just stayed out of his way.”