Awards

Nutrena Horse of the Year Awards Presented by AQHA

By Ann Bleiker

While most awards in rodeo are reserved for the human athlete, there is one that is solely based on the equine athlete’s accomplishments and what makes it even more special is that it is voted on by the top 25 WPRA members in each discipline. That award is the Nutrena Horse of the Year Award presented by AQHA.

Each year the horsepower gets stronger and stronger continuing to make this a very prestigious honor for horse and owner alike. Taking top honors in 2026 were new winners in both the barrel racing and breakaway roping.

Buncha Dinero, also known as Piper, took the top honors on the barrel racing side which is a homebred, raised and trained mare of No. 1 ranked cowgirl Hayle Gibson Stillwell. The now 7-year-old is sired by PC Frenchmans Hayday, which just so happens to be the sire of all three top ranked horse of the year finishers. Finishing a close second was KG Just Money “Showie” owned and ridden by Kathy Grimes and rounding out the top three was DM Sissy Hayday “Sister” that won the award last year for the second time in her career and is owned and ridden by Hailey Kinsel.

“Oh my gosh…that is so amazing,” said Hayle Gibson-Stillwell upon learning Piper was named 2026 Barrel Racing Horse of the Year. “I am so proud of that horse and thankful that the girls appreciate what she has done this year. There were so many amazing horses in the running this year. I thought we had a good shot but didn’t think we could get it because of the horsepower on that list. Man, I am so incredibly honored.”

Gibson Stillwell and Piper made their first NFR in 2025 ranked 12^th but they turned up the heat in 2026 going in as the top ranked barrel racer with $218,455 won on the year. One of their highlights in 2026 came at the Calgary Stampede when they set a new arena record with a 16.56 second run to advance to the final four round, which was won by Kinsel and Sister. At last year’s NFR, Gibson Stillwell and Piper won the seventh round in a time of 13.45, and they will be looking for more round wins this year.

“This award means more to me than anything I could ever have my name on,” stated Gibson Stillwell.

Breakaway roper Rylee George knows a thing or two about good horses and how they can make or break you during your career. George of Oakdale, California, will be making her third consecutive breakaway finals and this time will be doing so aboard the Breakaway Roping Horse of the Year Oke Colours.

“That horse has really changed my roping this year and for the other girls to think he is as special as I do is a blessing,” stated Rylee George about the 10-year-old grey gelding known as Copper. “That horse is just always on your team. He wants to score good, stand good in the box and tries to make your job as easy as he can. This is an amazing honor for him.”

George captured the Betty Gayle Cooper Ratliff Fast Time Award in 2024 with two 1.7 second runs aboard a horse she called Deputy that was previously owned by 26-time PRCA world champion Trevor Brazile. Then in 2025 she set a new average record in a time of 29.0 seconds on 10 head, surpassing the old record set in 2022 by Cadee Williams with a 31.9. George relied heavily on a borrowed horse from fellow competitor Jill Tanner, known as Bob, to capture the average title.

Then in January of 2026, George finally convinced fellow competitor Rickie Engesser to sell Copper to her and the 10-year-old has been her main horse since, carrying her to $159,569 in earnings, good for a fourth-place ranking. George will no doubt be looking to add additional accolades to her resume at the 2026 Wrangler WPRA National Breakaway Finals at Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Dec. 18-19.

Rounding out the top three in horse of the year voting in breakaway was Lets Boogie Wildcard “Eva” owned and ridden by Madison Outhier, also making her first breakaway finals appearance and Im Countin Checques “Checkers” owned and ridden by Josie Conner. Checkers had big shoes to fill for Conner replacing Stylish Drifter “Dutch”, who had won horse of the year the past two years.

2026 Nutrena Horse of the Year presented by AQHA final results:

Barrel racing:

• Buncha Dinero “Piper,” owned and ridden by Hayle Gibson-Stillwell
• KG Just Money “Showie,” owned and ridden by Kathy Grimes
• DM Sissy Hayday “Sister,” owned and ridden by Hailey Kinsel

Breakaway roping

• Oke Colours “Copper,” owned and ridden by Rylee George
• Lets Boogie Wildcard “Eva” owned and ridden by Madison Outhier
• Im Countin Checques “Checkers,” owned and ridden by Josie Conner

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