Everyone who knows anything about rodeo knows who Fallon Taylor is: she's that tall, dark-haired girl with the big smile, constantly turning heads not only with her speedy barrel horses but her outrageous outfits that whip into the arena in every hue imaginable (and some beyond our wildest imaginations as well.) From the die-hard fan to the annual NFR viewer to equestrians in totally unrelated disciplines, everyone knows of Fallon Taylor.


She's changing the face of rodeo with her highly-publicized decision to start wearing a riding helmet while barrel racing, a choice she proudly showed off in Round 3 of the 2014 National Finals Rodeo. (While she wasn't the first--Nicole Aichele's Helmet Tough campaign has been rolling for a few years--she's the most visible.) She's become both a role model to fans and a highly-criticized figure in the sport of rodeo, depending on what you think about her riding helmet, over-the-top wardrobe and the simple fact that Fallon appears to be everywhere at once. Love her or hate her, you've got to admit that the fact that she's even a topic of discussion in this article means that Fallon Taylor's doing something right: she's making people talk.

It's not as though this barrel racer has had a truly charmed life--she met with early success as a teenager, running in four consecutive NFRs from 1995-1998. In 2009, a riding accident nearly ended her career when she fractured vertebrae and needed a long time to recover.

In 2013, back on the road with her talented homebred mare Flo's Heiress (known as "Babyflo") she narrowly missed her fifth NFR qualification, but finally came roaring back in 2014 to win it all in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, she's developed her own clothing line, Ranch Dress'n, characterized by Fallon-esque neon and tie-dye and fringe, as well as sassy printed tops emblazoned with spirited messages. The line is very representative of Taylor herself, proclaiming such messages as "Helmet Hair Don't Care" and "Haters Are Motivators."

She's certainly dealt with more than her fair share of haters: in today's social media world, where it's far too easy for someone to take down another person without ever needing to meet them face-to-face, Taylor's constantly under criticism for the way she rides, the clothes she wears, the helmets she puts on her head, and her darn-it-all perky attitude. (It's like what your mother always said: "they're just like that because they're jealous.") Despite the amount of negativity she deals with in her daily life, she receives just as many messages of support from her many fans, and she thanks them often in her motivational messages over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In person, Taylor never says no to the crowds of fans who want her autograph, to take a photo with her, or just stop by and say a few words of support.

Combine all of this with Taylor's excellent team of people working with her and for her, and her talented speedy little horses and you have a recipe for one of the most high-profile people in rodeo. Yes, there are other cowgirls with faster horses, and there are plenty of other athletes who have excellent PR teams and presence with their fans. But because Taylor lives by her own words, publicly showing the world that she is not afraid to be who she is, no matter how much fringe and neon tie-dye that might include.

That attitude has attracted droves of fans as well as critics, but no one knows how to get attention like Fallon Taylor -- and that's exactly what the rodeo industry needs if it's going to continue to thrive.

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