Six NFR Qualifiers Unofficially Headed to Vegas for First Time in Barrel Racing

The NFR qualifiers have been set in the barrel racing.

Tricia Aldridge | Nathan Meyer Photography

Tens of thousands of miles have been travelled in the last year as contestants fought their way into the prestigious NFR- the Super Bowl of rodeo. The cutoff mark has officially come to a close, and while the audits haven't taken place yet, there is a very good idea of who will be heading to Las Vegas in December.

Kassie Mowry did Kassie Mowry things all year as she sat as the No.1 cowgirl in the world for the majority of the season. Her dominance in the barrel racing industry should not be taken for granted, as fans are witnessing arguably the best to ever do it.

This will be Mowry's fourth consecutive trip to the NFR (sixth ever) as she seeks back-to-back gold buckles. There are plenty of ladies with experience on the biggest stage in this year's top-15, but more than a third of the field this year is made up of NFR rookies.

New Faces to the Thomas and Mack

Nathan Meyer Photography

Unofficially, there are going to be six cowgirls running down the alley for 10 rounds when December rolls around. An NFR qualification is what anyone who runs barrels professionally dreams of and works toward. There is nothing quite like accomplishing this feat and the girls are ready to soak it all up.

There is one cowgirl who sits in the top five that has yet to set foot in the dirt of the Thomas and Mack arena- Megan McLeod-Sprague. After making it into the finals of the Governor's Cup she is finishing the year with nearly $175,000 and right behind four-time world champion, Hailey Kinsel.

Anita Ellis set the world on fire when she took home the win at this year's Calgary Stampede. She has a pair of geldings ready for the bright lights as she leads the charge of rookies at No.8 in the world going into the NFR.

No.10 through 12 of the world standings is Tayla Moeykens, Tricia Aldridge, and Hayle Gibson-Stillwell. $2,500 separates the three ladies as the race to the NFR was an incredibly tight battle all the way through the finish line.

Katelyn Lide-Scott sat in the hot seat and she came in clutch down the stretch. She was No.13 in the world standings going into the final week, but wasn't competing at the heavy cash flow production that was the Governor's Cup in Sioux Falls.

The Texas native won nearly $9,000 from California to Texas to keep herself inside the top 15 and she will be joining her sister-in-law at the Thomas and Mack when December rolls around. Halyn Lide was outside looking into the top-15, but she took full advantage of the opportunity that was in South Dakota on the final days of the regular season and she jumped inside the top-10 by the end of it.

The unofficial cutoff line was $130,794 which was $12,000 ahead of the No.16 cowgirl Julie Plourde who has found herself in the crying hole. The field isn't solidified quite yet as the official audit will take some time to line out, but as of now these are the ladies who will be chasing cans on the Cowboy Channel at the end of the year.

Congratulations to everybody on a hard fought year!

---