The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo will bring competitors together in fabulous Las Vegas, but the work starts on farms in small towns, like Marsing.For Megan McLeod-Sprague, that means feeding, riding, therapy and training as pa rt of a daily routine for her and her champion horses. WATCH: Marsing barrel racer punches ticket for National Finals Rodeo Marsing Cowgirl Headed to National Finals RodeoI'm riding a lot of horses every day, usually somewhere between four and eight, McLeod-Sprague said.Her journey in professional rodeo dates back nearly three decades.McLeod-Sprague joined the Women's Professional Rodeo Association in 1997, when she was just 14 years old. She has since become a familiar face to local rodeo fans, competing in barrel racing at the Caldwell Night Rodeo, her home arena.But her path to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was not consistent.Family responsibilities and school for her young kids took priority for a long time.I took a pretty big break from like 10 or 12 years, probably just rodeoing closer to home, until I got Jagger and my husband really encouraged me to try to make the NFR, and here we are, McLeod-Sprague said.Now, here means hours in the saddle.McLeod-Sprague said she can spend much of her day riding, sometimes working four to six hours per day with her horses. Among them is Jagger, a 15-year-old Gelding, one of her horses and an important part of her success in the arena.Keeping those horses healthy takes work beyond riding and training. McLeod-Sprague said her horses receive regular exercise and specialized therapy designed for the demands of competition.They're professional athletes and we treat them as such, she said.McLeod-Sprague invests heavily in the care of her horses. She estimates Jagger's value at $300,000 because of his training and fitness.For McLeod-Sprague, barrel racing is also a family tradition. Her mother competed in barrel racing and her father was a team roper. While she participated in other rodeo events when she was younger, she said the speed of barrel racing kept pulling her back.I always was drawn to, I think, the speed, McLeod-Sprague said. I like the speed. I did rope and do some other events when I was younger, but this was always my passion.Nearly three decades after joining the WPRA, that passion is taking McLeod-Sprague to Las Vegas.The 2026 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo begins Dec. 3 and runs through Dec. 12. The competition brings together the top 15 qualifiers in each event for 10 rounds of competition.For Canyon County happenings, news, and more join our Facebook Group: 2C Neighborhood News - Nampa, Caldwell, MiddletonThis story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less