One year ago, the inaugural Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo (KRRR) kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the team format, tournament rodeo with contestants competing side-by-side off a drag race style light system.

The unusual conditions required exceptional horsepower, timed event horses who could stand quietly in the box until the green light, then explode across the line in pursuit of a calf, a steer or a barrel.

As was the case a year ago, the top two in each event from Rodeo Corpus Christi will earn a spot on the World Champions Rodeo Alliance’s (WCRA) Free Riders, one of the KRRR Teams.

Because of its status as a qualifier, the rodeo, which runs from May 6-10 and will pay out $545,500, will also utilize the KRRR Timing System, meaning athletes competing in the American Bank Center on the Corpus waterfront will need to be well mounted.

Advantage to Casey Hicks.

The Talala, Oklahoma, roper is a horse trainer by trade, churning out some of the best rope horses in the business. While he has 50 head on the place in various stages of the process, Hicks has already settled on the veteran he’ll call on in Corpus.

“I’m going to ride Gucci,” Hicks said of the 18 year old gelding who is registered Bobs Cocktail Prom. Gucci came to Hicks through a good friend, Bruce Morris, about six or seven years ago.

Morris originally bought the horse over the phone and found him to be “not quite what was described in the ad,” according to Hicks.

“He is a great horse for me and taught me a lot,” Hicks said, noting he’s had numerous offers to buy from top level ProRodeo ropers.

“He’s not for everyone,” Hicks added wryly, noting his wife will hold Gucci but refuses saddling or feeding. “He’s hard to catch . . . everything is on his time. When I first got him, you couldn’t put a bridle on him without taking it apart first. If you’re in a hurry, he’s not your friend. He’s extremely watchy on the ground.”

“But he’s gentle once you get on him,” Hicks said, adding the horse has been voted Head Horse of the Year in the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) and twice in the American Cowboys Rodeo Association (ACRA). “He’s been a game changer for me in my rodeoing and allowed me to win a lot.”

Maximizing opportunity is critical for Hicks, who’s schedule includes virtually zero downtime between training and showing, both in the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and at the many roping futurities.

Despite the time constraints, Hicks is a regular at the International Finals Rodeo (IFR), ACRA Finals, and the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo. Although he often works both ends—in fact, he has AQHA World titles in both the heading (2022) and heeling (2021)—he sticks to the quarterback role at the rodeos.

“If I’m rodeoing or open jackpotting, I sure prefer to head. My knife is not quite as sharp as it needs to be in the heeling,” he said. “When the big money is up, I’d just as soon head.

Born and raised in Southeastern Missouri, Hicks grew up around halter and pleasure horses. When his parents, Ken and Joy, found themselves with a roping-crazed kid, they figured someone was going to have to learn to rope in order to rope with him.

“The story is that while I was still crawling, I was already dragging a rope around with me,” Hicks laughed, adding both parents eventually learned to rope and Ken still does some. “It was my childhood dream and they always had me on good horses that we raised or bought young and trained. The horse I made the High School Finals on, we raised, and the one I made the College Finals on, we bought as a weanling.”

Hicks won his first buckle before he was ten and saddles and trailers followed but he soon found his way to the show pen, first with paint horses.

“In 2010, I quit college and went to work at Holly Frontier—now Holly Sinclair—oil refinery. Worked there for four years,” Hicks stated. “I worked for Rick Chayer from 2014 to 2017 and then went out on my own.”

With a schedule busy enough to make a person tired just talking about it, Hicks is a fan of the WCRA and the freedom to nominate events in which you are already competing through their Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) and qualify to big events like Rodeo Corpus Christi.

“I spend a lot of time at the shows and futurities and when I get the chance to rodeo, they make it feasible to go two weekends and have a chance at a lot of money that also counts towards the IFR.”

Hicks has been at Corpus every year for the past four years and finished third last year. 2025 will mark the initiation of the KRRR Timing System in Corpus, however.

“We’re hoping to better that by at least one so we get to go to Kid Rock,” Hicks said. “I’m excited about the drag style start.”

Making the trip sweeter is the opportunity it affords Hicks to take a bit of a break and enjoy family and friends, including wife Kennedy and their son Parker, who is just 7 months old.

“Bruce [who owns Gucci] lives down there in Kingsbury so we’ll stay with him,” Hicks said. “He’s a huge role model for me and we have traded horses back and forth for years. It’s a great friendship and partnership; we help each other succeed.”

Hicks will head for Jake Pianalto and enters Corpus ranked first for the year-end Reliance Ranches VRQ Points Champion Bonus, worth $25,000; he’ll also heel for Ryne Hutton.

“Jake is one of my best friends for a long time,” Hicks said. “We won second at the Strait back in 2012. It makes rodeoing a lot easier when you’re going with a friend.”

Beyond making finals events and advancing to Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo, Hicks has other big 2025 goals, including to win over $100,000 at the futurities.

“As a group, I’ve got one of the greatest sets of horses I’ve ever had,” he admitted. “They excite me a lot because, as a trainer, the horses make us.”

“When you talk about certain horses—my El Nino Cat, Billie Jack [Saebens] and Notorious B I G, Cade [Rice] and Sevens Star Glo, and Joseph [Harrison] on Nu One Time Blues—these are the ones people get up on the fences to watch,” Hicks said. “All the other trainers are watching, too.”

“I’ve had a few of those horses that helped make my career; I’m blessed to have several who let people remember me.”

With so much to do, Hicks is grateful for his support system which includes his parents, who moved from Missouri to be close, and his in-laws.

“I couldn’t ask for any better help, from my barn crew, to the three guys who help me ride these horses, to my family, my wife, my neighbors,” he said.

“I’m grateful they’re all close,” Hicks said. “I’m beyond blessed with help.”

Rodeo Corpus Christi kicks off May 6 with its CEAT Division Youth Showcase, followed by WCRA rodeo action May 7-10, including the Showdown and Kid Rock’s Rodeo Round on the final night. For more information, visit wcrarodeo.com. The second annual Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo will be held inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on May 16.

—TRJ—