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…