NEW FACES IN VEGAS: Montana, Colorado cowgirls make their first trips to pro rodeo’s world championships in Las Vegas
Two cowgirls from the Tri-State Livestock News area will make their first trip to Las Vegas for pro rodeo world championships.
Barrel racer Tayla Moeykens, Three Forks, Montana, and breakaway roper Kinlie Brennise, Craig, Colorado, are headed to Nevada this December, Moeykens to compete at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and Brennise, at the National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR).
This was the first year Moeykens, a 2024 Montana State University graduate, could rodeo full time, due to college rodeo. Even though she only rodeoed part time last year, she still finished sixteenth in the world standings.
In 2025, she won first place at some big shows: Pendleton, Hermiston, Ore.; her hometown rodeo of Bozeman; and a second-place finish at Cheyenne Frontier Days, among other wins.
The year had its ups and downs, she said. Her mom Deena traveled with her, and they faced trailer and truck issues, and the usual challenges of keeping horses sound and healthy.
One of those instances came while driving 500 miles a day for five days in 108 degree weather: the truck’s air conditioned didn’t fully work. And the trailer they purchased second-hand came with problems that the former owner didn’t disclose.
But looking back, the low moments “don’t seem so daunting now, as they did at the time,” Moeykens said. She’s already learned from the experience: “the key on the road is to stay as neutral as possible, if things are going good or not, because the ups and downs can wear you out, and the road wears you out as it is.”
The 23-year-old cowgirl had two main horses this summer, and both will make the trip to the National Finals.
Lizard, a twelve-year-old gelding raised and trained by the family, loves to run, Tayla said. “He prefers it over turning (around barrels). He turns just because we ask him to.”
Not much phases the brown horse. Moeykens used him for the run-out for Montana State football games, and rode him down the street when ESPN’s College GameDay was in Bozeman for a game. “He’s done grand entries and he’s packed a flag,” she said. “He doesn’t lack confidence, and he’s probably one of the most solid horses I have.”
Her other mount, Yeti, will probably get the call for the small pen at the Thomas and Mack Arena, where the National Finals is held. “He loves the outdoor arenas, but he does really well in the tiny indoor pens,” she said, “which is odd because he’s over 16 hands.”
Coming into the Wrangler NFR in tenth place with $142,560 in season earnings, she’s keeping horses in shape, competing at a few rodeos and jackpots, working out, and doing mental toughness work, training her mind to focus about what she can control and not on what can’t be controlled.
She has help during the National Finals; her dad, Rick, will join her and her mom; a friend from Arizona will help with horses, and another friend from Montana will assist Tayla, getting her to the required appearances.
She’s appreciated everyone who has encouraged and supported her, including people who have sent mail, social media messages, people who have helped with horses at home, and her parents. “It takes a village,” Moeykens said, “and I’m so thankful for everyone I have on my team.”
Breakaway roper Kinlie Brennise was sole owner of a salon before she began fulltime pro rodeo competition.
While in college, first at Weatherford (Texas) College, then at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, she was fulltime at her salon, Luxury Aesthetics in Stephenville.
After college graduation and the end of college rodeo, she considered rodeo, and said, “now’s the time.” So she sold half of her business to a friend and hit the road. “I’ve always been mounted good, and my family has always been super supportive.”
A second place finish at Ft. Worth in January and a check for $18,000, made her realize she could make the NFBR.
“That’s what really lit the fire for me,” she said. “I thought, ok, I can make the Finals this year.”
It was a whirlwind of a year. She did well at the springtime California rodeos and at Calgary as well. “Everything in between, it felt like I was roping consistently and making checks everywhere I went, which worked, thankfully.”
She’ll take both of her main horses to the NFBR, the horses she’s ridden all year long.
Rio, a tie-down horse trained by Justin Maas, was her brother Kasen’s horse. The 9-year-old bay “has been rock solid for me,” she said. “He works good on long scores, short scores, indoor buildings, outdoor setups, wherever. I feel the most confident on him.”
Her other horse, Cat, was her brother’s heel horse. The 12-year-old sorrel mare works well on short scores, stops hard, and is also solid.
Brennise practices on anywhere from 20-50 calves a day. “I’m staying aggressive and taking my shot at every run,” she said.
She’s also working to not overanalyze the importance of the NFBR. “I’m trying to not overdo it and think too hard about it,” she said. “I’m just trying to create as much consistency as I can and keep my mental game strong while I’m keeping my roping strong.”
A lover of golf, this summer she golfed whenever she had the time, playing at ten or fifteen different courses. “That’s the best part of rodeo and traveling, that I get to go to these fun towns and check out their golf courses,” she said.
There are plenty of similarities between golfing and breakaway roping, she said.
“Mentally, you have to focus. You have to read the course, like reading the calf. When you step up to drive, you lock it in and take a deep breath,” she said.
The Brennise fan club will have a large entourage in Vegas. Her parents, Scott and Sheila, brother Kasen, and friends and other family members will be there.
It’s not only gratifying for her to have qualified for the NFBR, but for her family and friends as well.
“It’s rewarding for everybody: my parents, my brother, they’ve gone through just as much to get me here.”
Coming into the NFBR in eleventh place with $109,767 in season earnings, Brennise is too far behind to win the world title. But she’s gunning for the average.
“I’m not doing anything different to prepare for that,” she said. “My mental game is the same as it was all summer. Score sharp, take my first shot, and rope the calf in front of me.”
Other cowgirl contestants from the Tri-State Livestock News area include barrel racer Lisa Lockhart, making her 19th consecutive trip to pro rodeo’s world stage.
The Wrangler National Finals rodeo takes place Dec. 4-13 at the Thoams and Mack Arena in Las Vegas. It begins at 6:45 pm MST nightly and will be televised on the Cowboy Channel.
Because of the EHV-1 virus, the National Finals Breakaway Roping will not be held in Las Vegas. The WPRA announced on Nov. 26 that it would be held in Ft. Worth, Texas, at the Cowtown Coliseum, on Dec. 22-23.
