Ashtyn Pratz and Tammy Lewis roped their championship round steer in 6.78-second to win the Women’s Rodeo World Championship and $64,250 each—beating the pros as qualifiers from the Challenger ranks.
Most fans in the stands at AT&T Stadium likely expected to see a veteran pro team rope their way to the big payday. Instead, it was 16-year-old Pratz and 54-year-old Lewis—two gritty and consistent qualifiers—who rose through the WRWC brackets to steal the show.
Both women entered the WRWC via the Challenger division, a path designed for up-and-coming and non-card-holding ropers. Pratz, from La Mesa, New Mexico, and Lewis, from Queen Creek, Arizona, proved they belonged with the best of them. Their final run not only earned them the title but symbolized what the WRWC is all about: creating space for women at every level of the sport to win life-changing money on a national stage.
Built for Big Moments
Pratz, who headed the run, thrives under pressure.
“I live for this,” she said. “Little jackpots stress me out more than these big lights. I do better with the energy and the crowd.”
The 20-year-old horse she rode, Rico—registered as Boons Little Ricochet—was a junior rodeo mount that’s grown with her. She’s been heading on him consistently and even won a world title earlier in the week in the WRWC’s Challenger Division on his back.
Lewis, the heel side of the team, rode Rooster, a 12-year-old gelding by CD Lights. She and her husband have owned Rooster since he was 5.
“He was a late bloomer,” Lewis said. “But he’s a winner. Sometimes he gets short or slow, but he’ll still give me the shot I need.”
Their horses might not be fresh-out-of-the-trailer fireballs, but they’re seasoned, reliable—and clearly up to the task when it counts.
Mental Game Strong
Pratz and Lewis credit their mental preparation as much as their horses.
“All I was thinking was: Don’t miss the barrier. I already knew I was going to rope the horns,” Pratz said. “I visualize everything. I talk to myself positive. Tammy West-White gave me a great pep talk today. She said, ‘Just go do you.’”
Lewis echoed the focus.
“I just rode high and threw low,” she said, quoting a tip from a friend’s young son. “It really was just muscle memory. And I knew Ashtyn was going to do her job.”
From Challenger to Champion
Lewis has been roping in women’s rodeo events for years, including multiple seasons in the WPRA. Pratz is newer to the scene—this is just her second year on the WRWC stage. But both made it clear that they don’t shy away from competing with or against anyone.
Last year, Lewis made the finals but didn’t walk away with the win. This year, it all came together.
“I placed a little bit every year, but this was just a whole different experience,” she said.
For Pratz, the moment was especially sweet. In 2024, she missed making the WRWC Finals by one spot after breaking the barrier in the Showdown Round.
“It was a $10,000 leg,” she said. “I was fourth and they took three. That haunted me all year.”
This time, redemption came fast—and with a six-figure payout.
A Win That Means More
Both women emphasized how much it meant to win at an event like WRWC.
“It’s amazing,” Lewis said. “This event keeps me going. At my age, it’s incredible that there’s a place like this where women get the spotlight.”
Pratz agreed.
“I didn’t have the best week earlier, but this made up for it in a big way,” she said. “To be a Challenger and get to rope on the same stage as the pros—and beat them—it’s unreal.”
Since its inception in May 2020, the WRWC has now awarded more than $5.3 million in prize money—cementing its place as the richest women’s-only rodeo event in the world.
Right behind the champions, Alabama duo Jessy Remsburg and Beverly Robbins kept the heat on with a sharp 7.43-second run, good for second place and $25,000 each in the final round. With consistent runs all week, they wrapped up the event with $31,500 apiece—marking the third time this experienced team has made it to the big stage at AT&T Stadium. Third place went to Cassidy Boggs of Stephenville and Rylie Smith of Whitsett, Texas, who ran into trouble but still posted a 15.44-second time to bank $15,000 each in the round and $20,000 total for the week.
