Father and son team Brad and Braxton Culpepper won the 2023 International Professional Rodeo Association Championship with more than $25,000 each in season earnings at the 53rd International Finals Rodeo in Guthrie, Oklahoma, on Jan. 15.
With Braxton, 21, heading for two-time NFR Average Champion Brad, 52, heeling, they battled through a field of capable amateur competitors, catching one in 9.5 seconds in the second performance. Fortunately, their lead coming into IFR 53 was substantial enough to guarantee their championship win. Braxton finished the year with $27,581 while Brad accrued $25,807 for their efforts throughout the Dec. 2021–Nov. 2022 season, plus their IFR winnings.
Hailing from Poulan, Georgia, Braxton is the oldest of three children Brad has with wife Misty.
The team is well-acquainted with the IFR. Brad was the 2008 IPRA Heeling World Champion and Braxton qualified for his first IFR in 2019 at the age of 17.
Brad and Braxton are heavy hitters in the PRCA , as well, and culminated their 2022 ProRodeo season by winning the Year-End Average at the 2022 RAM Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo in November in Davie, Florida. Their 2023 season is off to a strong start with wins already had at Florida’s Citrus Stampede Rodeo and Mississippi’s Magnolia Center Pro Rodeo.
