Amberleigh Moore

Amberleigh Moore – Salem, Ore. ($93,059)
4-time WNFR qualifier

Amberleigh Moore will be making her fourth consecutive trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The Salem, Oregon, barrel racer has earned her berth nearly every possible way in those four years.

Her ten-year-old mare CP Dark Moon, who her husband Paul nicknamed Paige, has excelled in the atmosphere at the Thomas & Mack Center

Four years ago, she barely squeaked into the barrel racing field in 15th, but placed in eight of the 10 rounds, winning three. She won almost $187,000 at the finals, finished as reserve world champion and was the high money winner among the barrel racers.

The next year she came into Las Vegas ranked fourth and again won three rounds and placed in two others, winning nearly $120,000 at the WNFR.

Last season she was near the top of the standings until mid-June. Then, Paige bruised her feet and was out of competition from April until August. Amberleigh had dropped to 15th in the standings by September 15. But Paige came back strong to end the season and Moore won enough the final two weeks to secure the 13th spot.

This season didn’t start out as well. She didn’t move into the Top 15 until February when she was ranked 14th. She had dropped to 25th by June but was back to 12th by July 6. She had slipped to 15th just before Labor Day then won enough in September to finish the season at number 12 with $93,059 won in the regular season.

Having Paige out of action for the summer of 2018 gave Amberleigh a new appreciation for barrel racing. This summer at one of the biggest regular season rodeos – the Calgary Stampede – she lent her backup horse Ducky to fellow Oregon cowgirl Callahan Crossley for the wild card round. Her horses finished 1-2 in the wild card round with Callahan winning first and Amberleigh finishing second.

“Last year I was here without Paige,” she told the Calgary Sun. “I rode four different horses up here. I was quite willing to let her jump on my backup, because it’s not fun to come up here and lose your horse. Not all people would do it, but me having been in that position, I know what it’s like. It’s not fun.”

It’s that kind of camaraderie and the excitement of watching Amberleigh and Paige together has garnered her a lot of fans. They have lit up the Thomas and Mack Center for three consecutive years. Their fans will be on the edges of their seats as this duo starts down the alley each night of the NFR.