Rodeo Daily

Barrel Racer Anita Ellis Forced To Turn Out of 2025 NFR, Replacement Announced

The No. 8 barrel racer in the World Standings has officially turned out of the NFR, due to injuries from accident.
Teal Stoll|
Anita Ellis
Anita Ellis | Fernando Sam-Sin

Blackfoot, Idaho, barrel racer Anita Ellis suffered multiple small brain bleeds and facial fractures when she and her horse were in a nasty accident at a barrel race on November 15, 2025. Ellis fell onto the concrete, spending 10 days in ICU. Now released from the hospital and back at home, Ellis is in physical therapy and on the road to recovery.

This heartbreaking news happened just a month after she officially qualified for her first-ever National Finals Rodeo. Ellis is an accomplished barrel racer, having won over $860,000 in her career. Her focus for the past several years has been on her young horses in the aged events and her two main mounts today both earned roughly $200,000 in each of their respective futurity seasons.

Ellis' fairytale season in 2025 really kicked off when she earned a spot at the Calgary Stampede through the qualifier. She then swept the Stampede and held the arena record for a short time (16.79 seconds). Ellis continued to win at major rodeos across the country throughout the late summer and fall, ultimately finishing inside the top 10 in the World.

On Friday, November 28, the WPRA officially announced that Ellis would be forced to turn out of the 2025 NFR. Although her recovery is going well, her doctors have not yet released Ellis to ride.

Julie Plourde rode the roller coaster of professional rodeo until the final days of the 2025 season. Having qualified for the crucial Playoffs Series rodeos at the end of the year, she was hanging on to hope that an NFR qualification could be reality.

While Plourde was in Sioux Falls, S.D., for the Governor's Cup, Katelyn Scott was battling it out "old school" and hitting multiple rodeos in the final weekend of the professional rodeo season. Ultimately, Scott bested Plourde for the No. 15 position.

Plourde poses for headshot
Julie Plourde | Photo courtesy of WPRA

Plourde, of Krum, Texas, finished October 1 in the dreaded No. 16 position. We can only imagine the series of emotions she felt receiving the official notification that she would be competing at her first-ever NFR, in less than one week. Round 1 will kick off on December 4.

Plourde and her team of incredible horses remained steady throughout the entire season, consistently pulling checks at many major rodeos. The 2024 IPRA Barrel Racing World Champion, Plourde is no stranger to tight pens like the Thomas & Mack. We wish her the very best of luck as she runs down the alley, wearing back number 119.

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Teal Stoll
TEAL STOLL

Teal Stoll is a lifelong Wyomingite from a working ranch family of several generations. Both sides of her family have deep roots in rodeo, as contestants and stock contractors. Teal grew up horseback and actively competes in rodeos and barrel races. She has degrees in both business and accounting, which she uses operating her own bookkeeping service. Teal enjoys spending time with her horses, training colts, and maintaining her string of athletes. When she isn’t at the barn, she can be found reading, doing yoga, or on her paddle board at the lake. Teal lives with her fiancee and a plethora of animals, because she can’t say no to a displaced critter with a sad story. When she isn’t on the road running barrels, she spends her time helping with day to day operations on the family ranch.

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