FORT WORTH, Texas \u2014 This year, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) launched Premier Women\u2019s Rodeo\u00a0for female rodeo athletes to compete on a larger stage. The 2026 PBR World Finals are currently underway in Fort Worth, where some of the top women in Western sports are showcasing their talents.<\/p>\n
For Fallon Hale, barrel racing has been a lifelong passion.<\/p>\n
\u201cBarrel racing \u2014 I always explain it as running around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern going as fast as humanly possible,\u201d Hale said.<\/p>\n
As women\u2019s sports continue gaining national attention, Hale believes rodeo is finally receiving some of the recognition female athletes have worked for over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen in sports \u2014 and not just rodeo \u2014 have started to become more mainstream,\u201d Hale said. \u201cWe work really hard for all that we have and what we accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hale competes in barrel racing through Premier Women\u2019s Rodeo, representing a growing movement focused on expanding opportunities for female rodeo athletes across the country.<\/p>\n
According to Premier Women\u2019s Rodeo Commissioner Linsay Rosser-Sumpter, the organization is now the largest all-women\u2019s rodeo in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting to have an avenue and an organization that has really dug into women in sports in the Western industry,\u201d Rosser-Sumpter said.<\/p>\n
Hale said she never imagined she would one day compete at this level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I would be in the position that I\u2019m in, getting to compete for what I\u2019m competing for,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s all credit to these incredible horses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally from O\u2019Donnell, Hale began riding horses at just three years old. Even while attending Texas Tech University, rodeo remained a major part of her life \u2014 eventually becoming her full-time career.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years ago, I was the number one challenger coming in, and I got to have the incredible experience of running at AT&T Stadium,\u201d Hale said. \u201cIt was one of those would\u2019ve, could\u2019ve, should\u2019ve moments. I barely tipped a barrel to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The competition will award more than $800,000 to female athletes across several events, including roping and barrel racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know for a little while there, we were not competing for the same amount of money,\u201d Hale said.<\/p>\n
Now, Hale hopes the next generation of women sees rodeo as more than just a hobby \u2014 but as a real career path.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s so important to have a goal, have a dream, and regardless of how big it is, go after it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT WORTH, Texas \u2014 This year, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) launched Premier Women\u2019s Rodeo\u00a0for female rodeo athletes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1570,2777,116,118,117,223,1571,27,26986,1569,835],"class_list":["post-294635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-ctv","tag-entertainment","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-news","tag-nicolette-perdomo","tag-texas","tag-texas-editors-picks","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}