Barrel Racer Carlee Otero Continues To Be On Fire Ahead Of The NFR

Carlee Otero isn't slowing down in the barrel racing arena, she continues to push herself in the post-season, winning the Cooks Days Rodeo and eyeing the NFR title.

Carlee Otero | Fernando Sam-Sin

The work hasn’t come to end for rodeo athletes pushing until the National Finals Rodeo. While the regular season ended October 1st, and the top 15 athletes from each event have been solidified, the race to the finish is still to come. 

Over the weekend in Lubbock, Texas the Cooks Days Rodeo marked a huge payout for athletes in the post season and gave those in the middle of the pack a chance to prove themselves ahead of the world championship.

One said athlete is barrel racer Carlee Otero. At No. 7 in the world standings, she will be fighting tooth and nail to make it into the top 5 in the world after the NFR. For the 2025 season alone, she’s earned $168,493. The payout from Cooks Days added almost another $3,000 to her start on the 2026 rodeo year. This is huge for the rider as she almost accomplished earning over $1 million in career earnings earlier this season. 

The racer out of Perrin, Texas has made her mark this season. In an epic rodeo run, she brought home the gold medal at the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo, and she was named 2025 Utah Pioneer Week Top Hand for winning the most of any WPRA member at the rodeos in Salt Lake City, Ogden and Spanish Fork. 

Carlee Otero Is Pushing For The Top 5 During Her NFR Run

She was the crowned champion at five other rodeos this year and now is sitting at the highest in the world standings she’s ever been. In 2024, she entered the Thomas and Mack arena at No. 14, winning $148,552 at the NFR. 

With such huge payouts at the NFR, it goes to show that after each round, the world title is anyone's game. Otero is less than $10,000 away from the top 5 and with a solid performance in December, she could push herself into the rankings. 

Her win at Cooks Days marks her as a top competitor both during and after the regular season, and proves she isn’t slowing down any time soon ahead of taking to the NFR arena come December. Last year was her first trip the the NFR, so it could be her year if she performs as well as she has been.

Otero’s run at Cooks Days was 16.77-seconds, which not only brought her the win but continued to prove just how fast she can be in the arena. Her speedy times mark her as one to beat as she’s even broken arena records this season, including smashing the record in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Days of ‘47 Rodeo. 

It’s clear that although she sits in the middle of the world standings, Otero isn’t giving up until she takes home the world title at the NFR.

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