rock n rodeo

How to Compete in Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo with WCRA’s Free Riders
Want to compete in the inaugural Kid Rock's Rock N Rodeo? WCRA has a way in for you.
Riley Kittle and Jace Helton roping their steer in the Progressive Round of the 2023 Rodeo Corpus Christi. Image courtesy WCRA by Bull Stock Media.
Riley Kittle and Jace Helton topped the second performance at Rodeo Corpus Christi. Image courtesy WCRA by Bull Stock Media.

Who wants to throw down in the dirt at AT&T Stadium for their share of a $1 million payout during the inaugural Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo (KRRR), a reimagined team rodeo hosted by Kid Rock in partnership with the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) on May 17?

Plenty of ropers, steer wrestlers, barrel racers and bucking horse riders—almost 1,200 in fact—tossed their names into the pool for the draft but only two per event per team were chosen, leaving way more competitors standing on the outside looking in when the draft results were announced on March 12, 2024.

But for all of those athletes facing FOMO, fear not! 

What is the Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo?

Five teams, representing 80 athletes, may have already been decided but the final team to compete is the World Champions Rodeo Alliance’s (WCRA) own Free Riders. And unlike the other teams who were chosen by team coaches during the draft process, members of the Free Riders must win their way on to the team during Rodeo Corpus Christi, May 7-11.

Following its stated mission, WCRA offers both conventional and unconventional ways to qualify for its events, leaving the opportunity there for both full-time and part-time competitors. The Free Riders are no exception to WCRA’s long standing model.

So, still want to be a part of the newest team rodeo concept, a head-to-head competition in a team tournament with all-star coaches and a Kid Rock concert right in the middle? 

Luckily, your chances to win a spot on the Free Riders are not one in a million . . . they’re much better.

How to Compete in Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo

First, you can guarantee a position in Rodeo Corpus Christi by being inside the top top 20 of the WCRA’s Rodeo Corpus Christi (RCC24) Leaderboard by the cut-off date of April 7 11:59 p.m. CST. Find the current standings at www.wcrarodeo.com

Haven’t been using the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) through the WCRA app to earn points at your rodeos and jackpots? 

No worries – WCRA’s got you covered with four Last Chance Qualifiers, each offering the winner a spot into Corpus’ Wild Card Round.

Thinking the Last Chance doesn’t represent a good chance to earn a championship? Ask 2023 Women’s Rodeo World Champion (WRWC) Breakaway Roper Kelsie Domer. 

Without a guaranteed spot into the WRWC, the richest women’s rodeo event on the planet co-hosted by the WCRA and PBR, because she’d missed arena time while having her daughter Oaklynn, Domer took her shot during that event’s Last Chance Qualifier. She worked her way through the rounds to advance to the main event, eventually becoming the champ and more than $60,000 richer.

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity and the way it all played out,” Domer said at the time. “After having my baby and knowing I had this qualifier as an option took away a lot of the stress to get my nomination points in.”

So here’s how you can take your shot at being the Kelsie Domer of Rodeo Corpus Christi 2024:

  1. Enter one of the Last Chance qualifiers in April and May (San Angelo, Texas, Logandale, Nevada, McDonald, Tennessee or Guymon, Oklahoma).
  2. Go to NextGen Rodeo and enter the WCRA RCC side pot. Entry fee is $500.
  3. Be the highest placing competitor in the side pot and pack for Corpus Christi.

Once you arrive on the Corpus Christie Bayfront, there’s plenty of incentives beyond the one-in-a-lifetime chance to be a part of the first ever Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo. 

Rodeo Corpus Christi has a total payout of $600,500 and the Triple Crown Round winner in all events on Saturday night will get $15,000 and a fancy new custom surfboard.

Rodeo Corpus begins with the CEAT Specialty Tire Division Youth Showcase and Wild Card Round, held over two night May 7-8; the top 4 will advance to the Progressive Rounds and the winner will take home $2,500. 

Made up of the #1-8 on the Leaderboard and the Wild Cards, the Progressive Round is two go’s and an average, representing $29,000 of the total payout. The two round winners and the top five in the average go on to the final night’s Showdown Round for a guaranteed check of at least $500 but contestants earn more by surviving the Showdown Round and being one of the top three to advance to the Triple Crown Round. To save runs on their horses, all barrel racers advance to the Triple Crown Round.

That final round is a furious battle with the top three (seven in barrels) going head-to-head, sudden death for the $15,000 first place check.

The best consolation for each Reserve Champ in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie down roping, breakaway roping and barrel racing is the chance to join the Free Riders along with the Rodeo Corpus Champs. 

For those feeling bad for the bull riders (the inaugural Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo does not include bull riding), just don’t. The 2024 Rodeo Corpus Christi Champion Bull Rider gets an invite to the PBR World Finals Redemption Round, where he can ride his way into the lucrative PBR World Finals Unleash the Beast World Championship.

For more information on the Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo, visit kidrocknrodeo.com and stay tuned to wcrarodeo.com for the latest information and updated standings.

Cut-off date for RCC24 Leaderboard: April 7 11:59 p.m. CST 

Last Chance Qualifier Schedule:

  • San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo, PRCA, San Angelo, Texas, April 5-19
  • Clark County Fair & Rodeo, PRCA, Logandale, Nevada, April 10-14
  • 4th Annual Alhambra Shrine Rodeo, IPRA, McDonald, Tennessee, April 26-27
  • Guymon Pioneer Days, PRCA, Guymon, Oklahoma, May 3-5
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