Women in Rodeo: Gibson-Stillwell Climbs the Standings as Summer Rodeo Season Heats Up

Summer is the season of rodeo and now things are heating up as the ladies in barrel racing blaze into the arena looking to secure some big checks. Hayle Gibson-Stillwell is one athlete that’s at the top of her game and isn’t slowing down until she secures her second qualification to the National Finals Rodeo in her career.

10 Years in the Making

Since joining ProRodeo in 2016, Gibson-Stillwell has been gunning for success. Her 2025 season held just that, as she scored her first trip to the Thomas & Mack arena, entering the event at No. 12 in the world standings and finishing at No. 4.

Her performance at the NFR was one of her best of the season. She placed in seven out of 10 rounds and even took home a Round 7 win thanks to her 13.45-second run. She’s maintained that pace throughout this season as she already sits at No. 4 in the standings with $77,210, just $8,000 behind Emily Beisel in No. 3.

Most recently she took home the win at the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo thanks to her run of 16.87 seconds, which secured her a check of nearly $4,000. She has had quite a successful season, landing in No. 4 with just 25 rodeos under her belt so far this season.

The Battle for No. 3

While it will be a feat for this cowgirl to close the gap and land in the top three, her outstanding performance at the NFR last year just proves she has what it takes to win and make large jumps in the world standings. Gibson-Stillwell moving from No. 12 to No. 4 last year was the biggest jump in the world standings and now she’s put herself in a great spot going into the big summer rodeos.

This cowgirl has been on quite a roll this season as she’s found success at nearly every rodeo she’s been to even if it didn’t mean taking home the win. She made it to the finals at the San Antonio Stockshow and Rodeo and won the San Diego Rodeo in her home state of California early in the season.

Looking ahead, Gibson-Stillwell does have some hefty ground to cover but if anyone is capable it’s this cowgirl. She has some mighty horsepower underneath her, including her mares Fancy and Sharky that have led her to the top of the leaderboard. If she can maintain this kind of horsepower all summer long, Gibson-Stillwell may just have a shot at taking home the world title come December.

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