Reigning Barrel Racing Champion Will Not Compete at The American Rodeo

According to a last-minute announcement on social media, a change will be made to the barrel racing roster for the 2026 edition of The American Rodeo.

Kassie Mowry | Nathan Meyer Photography

With the 2026 edition of The American Rodeo kicking off on Friday, May 22, rodeo fans saw a surprising last-minute change to the barrel racing roster. In 2025, this cowgirl made waves when she won the event and set a new arena record in Globe Life Field.

Just hours before the Semi-Finals round is set to kick off, The American Rodeo shared on social media that one of the biggest names in barrel racing will not be competing this year. Reigning Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Champion Barrel Racer, Kassie Mowry, will not be competing over the coming weekend.

Mowry's History in Rodeo

Kassie Mowry and Jarvis | Fernando Sam-Si

Kassie Mowry is a legend in the sport of barrel racing, and she struck the professional rodeo scene with full force over the past few seasons. With nearly $9 million in lifetime earnings, she has focused the majority of her career on developing aged-event horses. Those horses have earned nearly every major title in the sport, and several have gone on to compete at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) with other riders.

Mowry, who has competed in professional rodeos since the early 2000s, first qualified for the NFR in 2025. Aboard a young horse with little rodeo experience, her first trip may not have gone as she intended, but Mowry certainly proved a tiger can change its stripes.

She returned in 2017 aboard another futurity standout, FirewaterMakesMeHappy. The duo broke the arena record inside the Thomas & Mack, which was broken again shortly after by Hailey Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday.

Mowry has become a staple at the NFR since 2022, qualifying each year with an impressively low rodeo count.

In 2024, Mowry earned her first gold buckle after an absolutely dominant performance aboard Force The Goodbye ("Jarvis"). She followed that win with another legendary move in 2025, when she left Jarvis at home due to the EHV-1/EHM outbreak. Aboard CP He Will Be Epic and a jump-ride, Heavens Got Credit, Mowry claimed her second World Championship.

WPRA events have not been the only rodeos on Mowry's radar.

In 2018, she competed at her first The American Rodeo aboard Girls Dig Fame. She returned in 2020 on Epic Guy and finished fourth in the finals. In 2021, she rode CP He Will Be Epic and Epic Guy. The call went to Famous Ladies Man in 2024, her first year as an invitee.

In 2025, she brought Force The Goodbye to Globe Life, and history was made. The duo secured the $100,000 win in the Finals with an arena record-breaking run of 15.055 seconds.

According to Section 1.1.3.6 of The American Rodeo Rules of Advancement, Mowry's position will not be filled.

“If a ‘Top 5’ Athlete declines a position and/or is injured and unable to compete in the The American Rodeo Showdown Round, the invited position will not roll down to the next placing Athlete.”