Sloan McFarlane Makes History as Ellensburg Rodeo’s First All-Around Cowgirl

For more than a century, the Ellensburg Rodeo has celebrated some of the best all-around hands in the sport. In 2026, a cowgirl added her name to that history.

Sloan McFarlane of Wilder, Idaho, was crowned the 2026 Ellensburg Rodeo All-Around Champion, becoming the first cowgirl to earn the title in the rodeo’s 103-year history.

McFarlane earned $6,253 across barrel racing and breakaway roping at Ellensburg, competing through muddy conditions and becoming the only contestant in the field to place in two events.

Most of her Ellensburg earnings came aboard a barrel horse. McFarlane collected $5,566 in barrel racing after placing second in Round 2, third in the short round and sixth in the average. She then added $687 by splitting seventh in the second round of breakaway roping.

The accomplishment stands out in an era when many professional rodeo athletes specialize in a single event. For McFarlane, however, competing at both ends of the arena is nothing new.

The Blue Mountain Community College cowgirl competes in barrel racing, breakaway roping, team roping and goat tying. During the 2025-26 college rodeo season, she finished atop the NIRA Northwest Region women’s all-around standings with 4,262.5 points, more than twice the total of the second-place finisher.

Her freshman season also took her to the 2026 College National Finals Rodeo, where she turned in a 2.2 second breakaway run during the third round.

Ellensburg was not McFarlane’s first major victory of 2026, either.

In May, she crossed the border for her first trip to Canada and left the Cloverdale Rodeo as its barrel racing champion. McFarlane stopped the clock at 15.74 seconds in the finals and earned $25,000 for the victory.

Her success also carries a homegrown element. McFarlane has competed on Gilligans Black Tux, better known as “Doc,” a 2011 stallion raised and trained by her parents and part of a multigenerational family breeding program.

That family connection stretches beyond the horses. McFarlane’s grandfather, John McFarlane, was also remembered as an all-around rodeo hand, making his granddaughter’s historic accomplishment particularly fitting.

Ellensburg has been part of rodeo history for generations. This year, McFarlane created a piece of her own.

She did it not by specializing, but by doing what all-around cowgirls have always done: riding good horses, backing into the roping box and being ready to compete wherever the day takes them.

After 103 years, Ellensburg finally has its first All-Around Cowgirl.