After winning the 2025 College National Finals Rodeo barrel racing championship, Acey Pinkston returned to Casper looking for back-to-back titles and wasted no time getting right back to number 1.
A year ago, Acey Pinkston left Casper, Wyoming, with a National Championship. She was the 2026 College National Finals Rodeo Barrel Racing Champion representing Southwest Texas College.
This year, the Stephenville Texas cowgirl is picking up right where she left off.
The defending champ opened the 2026 College National Finals Rodeo with a wicked 13.62-second run to win Round 1 and immediately put herself in position for another run at a national title.
For anyone who watched Pinkston a year ago, this kind of fast start to the week should come as no surprise.
In 2025, Pinkston and her horse StreakinFrenchBullet put together a nearly flawless week in Casper. Consistent runs of 14.35, 14.36, and 14.27 seconds positioned her atop the average entering the championship round. She then sealed the national title with a 14.13-second run in the short go, finishing with a 57.11 on four head and winning three of the four rounds along the way.
Since then, Pinkston transferred to Weatherford College, joining one of the top collegiate rodeo programs. Pinkston helped lead the Coyotes to a Lone Star Region Women's Team Championship and to the College National Finals Rodeo, where she is one of three Weatherford barrel racers competing this week.
What hasn't changed is her ability to dominate.
The 13.62-second run was a huge way to start it off. If anyone thought the defending champion might feel pressure returning to Casper, Pinkston quickly erased those concerns.
Behind Acey in the first round was Texas A&M University cowgirl Devin Young with a 13.77 followed by a pair of 13.89's by Morgan Addison ( TXTUL) and Anneliese McCurry (MTSU). Lauryn Motley (SAMSU) rounded out the top 5 with the final 13 second run, a 13.99.
The Acey Pinkston dominance extends far beyond college rodeo where she is already making her presence known at the professional level too.
Earlier this year, she finished second at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and followed that up with a fourth-place finish at RODEOHOUSTON, two of the richest and most prestigious rodeos in the country. Those performances have helped her climb to No. 23 in the WPRA World Standings with more than $30,000 in winnings so far this season.
With the summer run now underway, Pinkston finds herself in a unique position. Not only is she chasing back-to-back national titles in Casper, but she is also making a serious run at qualifying for her first National Finals Rodeo in the same year.
For now, however, the focus remains on the College National Finals Rodeo for this week. She has three more runs before they will crown a champion, but Round 1 made it clear that Acey Pinkston has her eyes on back-to-back National Titles.
