Go beyond the numbers with first-time NFR qualifiers in the barrel racing at the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
8. Anita Ellis
Hometown: Blackfoot, Idaho
Horses: SGL Rico (“Rico”), 2020 gelding, The Goodbye Lane x Version Blue x Winners Version; RV Two Dash Ta Vegas (“Axe”), 2016 gelding, French Streaktovegas x Two Dash To Fame x Dash Ta Fame.
WPRA Season Earnings: $146,992
Rodeo Count: 44
NFR Qualifications: 1 (2025)
Recent Career Highlights: 2025 champion Calgary Stampede; Yuma, Window Rock, Arizona; Filer, Idaho. 2025 reserve champion Sheridan, Wyoming; Tucson, Arizona (tie); Gooding, Idaho (tie). Puyallup, Washington arena record holder (13.52 in 2025.) Multiple futurity, slot race, derby and open wins.
Spotlight on First-Time Qualifiers
Barrel Horse News: Can you talk about the horses you rode this year?
Anita Ellis: I started the year running my 9-year-old gelding named Axe. I trained Axe and ran him as a 4-year-old in futurities. He was the top earning futurity horse in 2020. Axe had a phenomenal rodeo year this year. Rico is my 5-year-old gray gelding that I ran this year in rodeo. I trained him and ran him last year as a futurity colt and he earned about $178,000 in the aged event races. Rico’s very first outside rodeo run was Elko Nevada where he ended up placing.
BHN: At what point did you think an NFR qualification would be possible?
Ellis: Back in January, Axe won the little Yuma, Arizona rodeo and when I was driving home, I told my husband I was going to the NFR this year. I’msure he was thinking, “yeah ok, you won $1,300,” but he let me have my dream. Then when I ran in the Cheyenne rodeo, Rico placed second in the first round. This was after winning Calgary so It was then I knew that if I kept plugging away, it was in reach. I remember laying in bed that night with that realization and feeling so grateful for this journey I’ve been on.
BHN: What has been your biggest challenge to overcome when rodeoing?
Ellis: The biggest challenge is keeping horses healthy and having a mindset that you need to be on this journey. The miles on the road and the disappointments can really get to you if it’s not a priority to keep yourself in a good place. I dreamed this up and then I lived in it. When things would happen that were disappointing, I saw my dream already playing out and knew those disappointments were my stepping stones. This was a difficult task sometimes.
BHN: Is there anything you would have told your younger self about this journey?
Ellis: I used to dream of running at the NFR when I was about 5 years old, and I thought my little pony Jennie was just as fast as anything. A back injury in high school kept me from riding for years. I started training horses in 2019 and running futurity horses in 2020. I didn’t start rodeo until 2022 and it was definitely a different game than futurities. All of this has happened pretty quickly but it’s also something I’ve wanted my whole life. Knowing myself, there wasn’t much I could tell my younger self that my younger self would actually listen to. I am one who has to live and learn and I’vedefinitely done a lot of that the last few years, in and out of the arena. It’s all been such a life changing blessing for me. I would say thank you to my younger self for dreaming up some big dreams that I couldn’t let go of.
BHN: What was your biggest win this year?
Ellis: My biggest win is always going to be Calgary. I can’t think about it without feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. It makes me so happy. All of it was so incredible and having the videos of each run, listening to the build up in Pool A, and listening to the reaction people had to my horses will always be something I greatly cherish.
