Which Barrel Racer Could Have 'David vs. Goliath' Performance at NFR?

The NFR is here and there are plenty of veterans, but also a few rookies in the barrel racing ready to steal the show.

Katelyn Scott placing in the first round of the NFR | Nathan Meyer Photography

Round one of the NFR has come and gone and it was anything but disappointing. This has been the night everyone has been waiting for, competitors or not, as the world champions are now one day closer to walking across the stage to get their gold buckle.

The barrel racing is one event that has quite a few new faces to the Thomas & Mack as more than one-third of the field are rookies to the NFR, but that doesn't mean they should be counted out.

Arguably the two biggest names in the industry stole the show on night one as Kassie Mowry and Hailey Kinsel went one and two as the gold buckle race intensifies, but there is rookie to keep an eye on as she jumped from No.15 in the world to No.10 after round one, Katelyn Scott.

Scott's 2025 Journey

Katelyn Scott | PRCA

Scott had a photo finish to cross into the top-15 this year as she travelled thousands of miles in the final month to make sure that her efforts would not be worth nothing. She didn't qualify into the Governor's Cup at Sioux Falls, but went everywhere else in that final week.

It doesn't matter how she did it, she did it. The Texas native came out blazing in night one as she was one of four to crack the 14-second barrier and she took home more than $15,000 for her very first run in that building.

It was truly incredible to watch her pilot that yellow gelding in her debut at the bottom of the ground and she followed the suit in round two.

Even though she wasn't at the bottom of the ground in her second run, she was definitely nowhere near the top, but it didn't matter because she wouldn't be kept from getting another check.

Scott ended up third trailing only Kinsel and Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi as she ran a tenth of a second faster. This might be he her first NFR, but she is handling it like a veteran as she is now two-for-two and has taken home more than $37,000.

Even though it is early, it is important to note that Scott currently sits third in the average, trailing only Kinsel and Mowry, as only seven ladies are still clean after the first two rounds.

The NFR is far from over, and while both Mowry and Kinsel have emerged as the front-runners in the gold buckle race, Scott is definitely one underdog that everyone should keep a watchful eye on.