Mary Walker (rodeo)  Mary Walker (born January 26, 1959) is the 2012 American professional World Barrel Racing Champion. Walker overcame severe hardships in her life to become the oldest woman, at 53, in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) to win a world championship in barrel racing at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 2012. She was later surpassed by Mary Burger in 2016 when Burger won at age 68. She lost her only child to a car accident in 2011. Two months later, Latte, her horse, fell on her during competition and severely injured her. It was about a year and a half after these incidents that she won her world title. Walker was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2013. Walker was born in Ennis, Texas, on January 26, 1959. She grew up riding horses, and started barrel racing as a youth. According to Walker, she had a positive childhood although her father died when she was 19. Deciding against attending college, she got a job and worked the rodeos on the weekends. In 1983, she married Byron Walker, who became an elite rodeo performer. They resided in Ennis but now live in Abilene, Texas. Byron is the 1981 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Steer Wrestling Champion, and qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) 16 times. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2014. Walker's favorite pastimes include deep sea fishing and mowing the lawn. She also has a dog, Buster, who goes everywhere with her. Walker and her husband had one child, their son, Reagon. Reagon became a professional steer wrestler, with a promising future. On April 23, 2011, Reagon and his girlfriend were involved in a car accident, where he died due to his injuries. Two months later, in a competition in Crosby, Texas, while running around the third barrel, Latte slid and fell on Walker. The horse was fine, but Walker suffered a shattered pelvis, multiple breaks in her hip, two broken vertebrae, and two broken toes. She underwent surgery the next day, and the doctors used 8 plates and 11 pins to secure her hip. "I was four months in a wheelchair, three months in physical therapy. I went from the wheelchair to a walker, then to a crutch, then to a cane." Walker eventually returned to horse riding, but lost a lot of rodeos until she regained trust in herself and Latte.