WCRA Announces Major Transition and New Leadership

new chapter

WCRA infused over $21 million into the rodeo athlete ecosystem, delivered the sport to national television, and pioneered new standards in competition and production.

The WCRA announced July 31, that it will complete its organizational mission and transition operations to new leadership effective August 1, 2025. While WCRA as an organization sunsets, its core initiatives will continue under new leadership to ensure continued opportunity in youth, women’s and open rodeo competition.

This transition will solely impact WCRA’s open rodeo competition and will not affect women’s or youth rodeo initiatives. Moving forward, the PBR will oversee and continue all operations related to the Women’s Rodeo Championships, more details to follow. Additionally, the World Championship Junior Rodeo will continue to be produced by the Lazy E Arena, with the competition format being released shortly.

“Our mission from the very beginning was simple: to make rodeo better,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote. “There was no blueprint when we started—just a shared belief that the sport and its athletes deserved more. We set out to do something bold, something that hadn’t been done before. Today, open rodeo athletes have more opportunities and pathways than ever before. In our eyes, that’s mission accomplished. We’re incredibly proud of the impact we’ve made and deeply grateful to everyone who believed in the vision along the way.”

Nominations for both the Women’s Rodeo World Championship (W26) and the 2026 World Championship Junior Rodeo (DY26) are now open through the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier.

Since 2018, WCRA has infused more than $21 million into the rodeo athlete ecosystem, brought rodeo to national television audiences, and pioneered a number of competition and production innovations. These include the implementation of instant replay for every ride and run, hand-raking and halfway drags in barrel racing, point deduction markouts in roughstock events, and rules like mishandling and the three-second tie—many of which are now widely adopted across the sport.

The organization was instrumental in elevating the profile of breakaway roping and was the first to offer a truly equal platform for women in rodeo. WCRA played a key role in expanding the sport’s reach, including the historic 2021 Women’s Rodeo World Championship broadcast on CBS, which became the highest-rated rodeo program in history with 2.4 million viewers.

All inquiries related to the transition can be directed to info@wcrarodeo.com.

Some of TRJ’s favorite WCRA moments

ABOUT WCRA

WCRA is a professional sport and entertainment entity created to develop and advance the sport of rodeo by aligning all levels of competition. In association with the PBR, WCRA produces major rodeo events, developing additional opportunities for rodeo-industry competitors, stakeholders, and fans. To learn more, visit wcrarodeo.com. For athletes interested in learning more about the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) system, visit app.wcrarodeo.com.

ABOUT WRWC

The WRWC is the richest women’s-only rodeo event in the world, empowering female athletes across multiple disciplines to compete at the highest level. Since launching in May 2020, the WRWC has awarded more than $5.3 million in new money to women’s rodeo athletes. For more information about the WRWC visit https://womensrodeochampionships.com/.

ABOUT WCJR

The Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo (WCJR) presented by Montana Silversmiths—one of the richest youth rodeos in the world—returns to Guthrie, Oklahoma, from July 6–11, 2025. WCJR showcases top athletes ages 8–19 in disciplines like breakaway roping, team roping, barrel racing, goat tying, and roughstock events. With a fair, points-based qualification system and championship-level production, WCJR offers young competitors a world-class stage, national recognition, and career-building opportunities.