The regular season is in the books, the WPRA posted its final world standings Oct. 1, and the 2026 NFR barrel racing field is set. We’ve been following these 15 down the road since last October….so here’s the whole crew headed to Las Vegas in December.
Hayle Gibson-Stillwell is leading the whole thing at $218,456. A year ago she came into her first NFR at No. 12. Emily Beisel is right on her heels, $4,333 back and headed to her eighth straight, and Carlee Otero, who won Puyallup and grabbed the world lead in September, sits third.
Three ladies are going to their first NFR: Michelle Alley, Sydney Graham and Makenzie Mayes. On the other end of it, Lisa Lockhart is going for the 20th year in a row.
And there’s more than one way to get there. Kassie Mowry did it on 27 rodeos. Andrea Busby went to 99, then won the Governor’s Cup on Benny the last weekend of the season to lock in her third. At the bottom of the board, Tricia Aldridge hung on to the 15th hole by $4,949 over LaTricia Duke.
Scroll on for all 15, plus our favorite stories on every one of them.
