The WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) recently announced that an additional three places will be paid out in the 2023 Reliance Ranches VRQ Points Champion Bonus—an annual award that will pay a cash bonus to each athlete who earns the most VRQ (Virtual Rodeo Qualifier) points in their disciplines. The WCRA will now reallocate the $180,000 VRQ Weekly Bonus moneys towards the Points Champion Bonus program effective December 1.
Currently in 2022, WCRA is slated to pay out $25,000 to each Points Champion in each discipline at the Cowtown Christmas Championship Rodeo (Dec. 14–17).
“In April 2022, we unveiled the bonus paying $25,000 cash to the athlete per discipline who earns the most VRQ points,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote. “For next year, we will expand the 2023 Reliance Ranch VRQ Points Champion cash bonus and offer the award to four athletes per discipline, which in turn, will give athletes an additional opportunity to put money in their pocket.”
The now collective $405,000 in bonus cash will be available to all athletes who nominate their 2023 rodeo efforts in their respected discipline (bareback riding, steer wrestling, heading, heeling, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, breakaway roping, barrel racing and bull riding) through the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) towards a 2023 WCRA event. Payout is as follows:
- First Place: $25,000
- Second Place: $10,000
- Third Place: $7,500
- Fourth Place: $2,500
“We fully expect that many of the December event champions will be going home with over $40,000 each,” said Mote. “Some of the feedback we received this year encouraged us to expand the year wand payout to include 3 more paid places. This is an example of the WCRA being all for rodeo and all for its athletes.”
The 2023 Reliance Ranches VRQ Points Champion season starts November 28, 2022. The cash bonus will be awarded based on total cumulative points earned across all 2023 segments, including the World Points (where available at WCRA 2023 events). All points that athletes earn in a 2023 nomination segment will put them in a leaderboard race for a chance to earn a piece of the $45,000 cash bonus per discipline.
Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira on Track for $50K in WCRA’s Reliance Ranches VRQ Bonus
The 2023 WCRA Triple Crown of Rodeo schedule as of now includes Rodeo Corpus Christi May 10-13, followed by the Women’s Rodeo World Championship in Fort Worth May 18-20 and Rodeo Carolinas October 6-7.
Nominations are open now for the following WCRA 2022-23 events:
| Date | Name | Nominations Close |
| December 14-17 | Cowtown Christmas Championship Rodeo | November 27 |
| May 10-13 | Rodeo Corpus Christi | April 9 |
| May 18-20 | Women’s Rodeo World Championship | April 16 |
All athletes from around the globe have the opportunity to compete in the WCRA Triple Crown of Rodeo Events and compete for the Reliance Ranches VRQ Points Champion Bonus through the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ). All rodeo athletes interested in learning more about the VRQ should be directed to wcrarodeo.com or go to the App store or Google Play Store and download the WRCA app on their mobile device.
