NFR NEWS

Otero Wins Round 5 at the 2025 Wrangler NFR

By Ann Bleiker

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – The first WPRA barrel racer at the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge to make a second victory lap was none other than Carlee Otero.

Otero of Perrin, Texas, aboard the Scoti Flit Bar Award winner AM Regina George, turned up the heat in the fifth round stopping the clock in a time of 13.43 seconds. She rocked the second barrel but left it standing as she headed for the third to outdistance the field.

“The first round win I ever had at the NFR came in 2011 aboard Dillon and it was on Pink Night,” stated Otero, who added another win on Pink Night in 2025. “This was the fastest run I have ever had in this arena. We weren’t holding back tonight. Actually, you can’t here.

“God was on my side because that second barrel…whew it was close. Tricia and I both got a little lucky tonight. We are in Las Vegas, so luck is a good thing.”

The back half of the barrel racing was a quick one with four-time WPRA world champion Hailey Kinsel stopping the clock in 13.56 seconds and then came Lisa Lockhart stopping the clock in 13.55 seconds. Otero followed Lockhart and sped right to the top of the leaderboard for the win and a $36,668 payday.

“I was watching the girls at the beginning and felt like the ground looked as solid as I have seen it look all week,” noted Otero, who was 14^th out on the ground in the fifth round. “I knew I could go in there and still be comfortable.”

Making her first NFR appearance Katelyn Scott is competing like a veteran in the Thomas and Mack moving to the top of the average leaderboard in a total time of 68.63 seconds on five runs. Scott is competing here with her sister-in-law Halyn Lide who finished in the money for the first time this year tying for second in the round with the legend Lockhart.

It has been a whirlwind for Lide since the end of September when she won the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls to punch her ticket to her second NFR. She then made the trip to Las Vegas without her main horse Keeper, due to the EHV-1 outbreak. On opening day of the NFR, she learned the top 15 barrel racers voted Keeper the WPRA Horse with the Most Heart and now she got a check aboard Smooth As Rico Suave, known as Pancakes, owned by Kappie Bryant.

Scott was a true team player on Monday night when she let fellow barrel racer Tayla Moeykens use her back-up horse Heaven Sent Fame also known as Kian. Unfortunately, they hit a barrel but hoping for better luck over the next five nights.

Reigning world champion Kassie Mowry and Tricia Aldridge are tied for second in the average in a time of 68.69 seconds on five runs. Mowry remains in the lead in the world with $279,684 despite landing outside the top six tonight with a time of 13.77.

This year’s overarching theme of the NFR is celebrating 40 years in Las Vegas and seeing how times and money have changed. Winning the fifth round in 1985 was Janet Stover finishing in a time of 14.36 seconds.

All the top 15 are not only competing for cash in the arena but a chance to be named the 2025 Jerry Ann Taylor Best Dressed Award winner presented by The Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. It was Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night inside the Thomas and Mack where they honored ProRodeo Hall of Famer Pam Minick just before the barrel racing for being a cancer survivor. The red-head Emily Beisel was sparkling in her pink including the leg wraps that Teasin Dat Guy, known as Chewy, was sporting. Fans can vote nightly for the best dressed at www.wpra.com. The winner will be announced prior to the start of the 10^th round. The winner is determined by a combination of fan and committee votes.

Sixth round action gets underway, Tuesday, December 9 at 5:45 p.m. PT LIVE on the Cowboy Channel.

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Rd 5 results: 1. Carlee Otero, Perrin, Texas, 13.43 seconds, $36,668; 2. (tie) Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., and Halyn Lide, China Spring, Texas, 13.55, $25,431 each; 4. Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 13.56, $15,377; 5. Tricia Aldridge, Sanger, Texas, 13.61, $9,463; 6. Katelyn Scott, Odessa, Texas, 13.63, $5,914

Average leaders: 1. Katelyn Scott, Odessa, Texas, 68.63 seconds on five runs; 2. (tie) Kassie Mowry, Dublin, Texas, and Tricia Aldridge, Sanger, Texas, 68.69; 4. Julie Plourde, Krum, Texas, 70.22; 5. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas, 70.29; 6. Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 73.47; 7. Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 73.82; 8. Megan McLeod-Sprague, Marsing, Idaho, 73.99

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