BARREL RACING SHINES AT NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW & RODEO

DENVER, Colo. (Jan. 18, 2026) — If Sunday’s competition at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo is an indication of what is to come in the barrel racing, fans have a lot to look forward to.

At the Sunday matinee, Julie Plourde, originally from Quebec, Canada, took the top spot with a 15.06-second run. Plourde got the call to compete at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo last month after one of the other barrel racers was injured. It took some strategy to get to Las Vegas to compete at rodeo’s championships, but the French speaking Canadian made the most of the opportunity by winning the rodeo championship with the fastest total time on 10 runs.

She then started working on her 2026 season and recently won the Sandhills Stock Show Rodeo in Odessa, Texas. She leads the first round here with that 15.06. She came back on Sunday night and stopped the clock in 15.00 seconds and finished at the top of her bracket. She is now making plans to be back here next Saturday for the Semi-Finals.

But no barrel racer has done better here on one run than college student Morgan Bagnell from Heath, Texas. Riding her great horse, Axel, Bagnell is the first barrel racer to clock under 15.00 seconds at 14.90. She was the very first competitor on Sunday night and set the pace for the rest of the field.

Unfortunately for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) qualifier from Oklahoma State University, her first round time kept her out of the top three that advance to the Semi-Finals. She is leading the race for the Resistol Rookie of the Year in the barrels, is still in college and is working towards another trip to Casper, Wyoming next June to compete at the CNFR again.

And while she might be disappointed that she won’t get to run in the Denver Coliseum again in the Semi-Finals, she has a lot to be proud of in her first trip to the legendary rodeo.

Pro rodeo action continues on Monday at 1 p.m. with the first round of Bracket 5. Then the Martin Luther King Jr. African American Heritage Rodeo kicks off at 6 p.m.

There are two performances here on Sunday. Bracket 4 will start at 2:00 p.m. and finish at the 6:30 p.m. performance.

DENVER, Colo. (Jan. 18, 2026) — The following are results from the National Western Stock Show Rodeo.

Bracket 4 – Round 1

Bareback Riding: 1, Richmond Champion, Stevensville, Mont., 83.5 points on Cervi Brothers Rodeo’s On Second Thought. 2, Taylon Carmody, Mobridge, S.D., 83. 3, Kooper Heimburg, Marshall, Mo., 80. 4, Donny Proffit, Diamondville, Wyo., 79.5.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Trey Bohmbach, Stanley, N.D., 4.2 seconds. 2, Wynn Schaack, Wall, S.D., 4.3. 3, Ty Bauerley, Jourdanton, Texas, 4.8. 4, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 5.5. 

Team Roping: 1, Cash Duty. Weimer, Texas, and Jake Edwards, Fort Ann, N.Y., 4.5. 2, Bridger Ketcham, Stephenville, Texas, and Kaden Prince, Snyder, Texas, 6.1. 3, Roan Oldfield, Lovington, N.M., and Creed West, Fort Sumner, N.M., 6.3. 4, Cole Robinson, Moorcroft, Wyo., and Coy Johnson, Buffalo, Wyo., 6.7.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, James Perrin, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, 84 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Liza Jane. 2, Devon Hay, Kaycee, Wyo., 83. 3, (tie) Cauy Pennington, Kiowa, Colo., and Tom Webster, Goondiwindi, Queensland, 81 points each.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 8.3 seconds. 2, Cole Robinson, Moorcroft, Wyo., 9.2. 3, Chance Fleming, Bloomfield, Iowa, 9.6. 4, Seth Hall, Albuquerque, N.M., 9.8.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Julie Plourde, Krum, Texas, 15.06 seconds. 2, Chelsea Moore, Rose Hill, Kan., 15.13. 3, ,LaTricia Duke, Zephyr, Texas, 15.25. 4, Chery Pinkston, Kaufman, Texas, 15.29.

Bull Riding: (two rides) 1, Hudson Bolton, Milan, Tenn., 85 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Gladiator. 2, Colorado Kid Mackay, Ignacio, Colo., 77.          

Bracket 4 – Round 2

Bareback Riding: 1, Richmond Champion, Stevensville, Mont., 82 points on The Cervi Brothers’ On Second Thought. 2, Taylon Carmody, Mobridge, S.D., 79.5. 3, Toby Deudney, Tumut, New South Wales, 78.5. 4, Donny Proffit, Diamondville, Wyo., 78. (advancing to Semi-Finals) 1, Champion, 165.5. 2, Proffit, 157.5. 3, Carmody, 157.        

Steer Wrestling: 1, Kaden Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., 3.6 seconds. 2, (tie) Cody Pratt, Pueblo, Colo., and Ty Bauerle, Jourdanton, Texas, 4.9 each. 4, Tristan Martin, Sulphur, La., 5.1. (advancing to Semi-Finals) 1, Bauerle, 9.7. 2, Martin, 10.9. 3, Pratt, 11.4.

 Team Roping: 1, Brayden Fillmore, Pueblo, Colo., and Cody Lansing, Cortez, Colo., 4.5 seconds. 2, Jade Espenscheid, Big Piney, Wyo., and Wes Miller, Big Piney, Wyo.., 4.7. 3, Roan Oldfield, Lovington, N.M., and Creed West, Fort Sumner, N.M., 6.4. 4, Bridger Ketcham, Stephenville, Texas, and Kaden Prince, Snyder, Texas, 7.9. (advancing to Semi-Finals) 1, Oldfield and West, 12.7. 2, Ketcham and Prince, 14.0. 3, Cash Duty, Weimer, Texas, and Jake Edwards, Fort Ann, N.Y., 21.1.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, James Perrin, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, 82 points on The Cervi Brothers’ Sicilian Kiss. 2, (tie) Cauy Pennington, Kiowa, Colo., and Tom Webster, Goondiwindi, Queensland,  81 each. 4, Brady Hill, Onida, S.D., 80.5. (advancing to Semi-Finals) 1, Perrin, 166. 2, Pennington, 159. 3, Webster, 158.5.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Semaj Collins, Cleveland, Texas, 7.4 seconds. 2, Luke Potter, Maple City, Kan., 8.5. 3, Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 8.9. 4, Cole Robinson, Moorcroft, Wyo., 9.4. (advancing to Semi-Finals) 1, Meged, 17.2. 2, Robinson, 18.6. 3, Tate Talkington, Scottsbluff, Neb., 23.3.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Morgan Bagnell, Heath, Texas, 14.90 seconds. 2, Julie Plourde, Krum, Texas, 15.00. 3, LaTricia Duke, Zephyr, Texas, 15.03. 4, Lindsey Muggli, Lane, Okla., 15.13. (advancing to Semi-Finals) 1, Plourde, 30.06. 2, Duke, 30.28. 3, Muggli, 30.46.

Bull Riding: 1, Colorado Kid Mackey, Ignacio, Colo., 87 points on Cervi Championship’s Smokin Joe. 2, Cade Griego, Stanley, N.M., 85.5. 3, Tyler Taylor, Stephenville, Texas, 84. 4, Hudson Bolton, Milan, Tenn., 80.5. (advancing to Semi-Finals) 1, Bolton, 165.5. 2, Mackey, 164. (on one) 3, Griego, 85.5.

About the National Western Stock Show — Established in 1906, the National Western Stock Show is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization that provides college and graduate level scholarships in agricultural-related fields of study. It mission is to serve producers and consumers throughout the world by being the premier stock show, equestrian competitions, and center for year-round events. The 16-day show also serves as an entertainment arena, hostinone of the world’s richest regular season professional rodeos, family and educational shows plus Colorado’s largest western trade show. For more information, visit nationalwestern.com.