With 11,610 points in the heading and 3,154.25 in the heeling, Bronc Evans has established himself as one of the most dominant young ropers in the World Championship Junior Rodeo standings—but in 2026, the 15-year-old is focused on what’s next as he prepares to step into a new division.
The Fairview, Missouri, cowboy has already stacked wins across nearly every major youth stage—from the Junior NFR to The Patriot to multiple WCJR titles—but with a new set of horses and a move into older, tougher competition, Evans is shifting his focus from winning what he knows to proving himself all over again.
Q: You’ve had a ton of success at the WCJR already—what keeps bringing you back?
A: The first year I went, I didn’t really know much about it—I think it was one of the first couple years that they had it. I headed for Brant Cookston, and we actually went through the qualifying rounds. That moment for me was like, this is something I want to come back to for just showing up kind of unprepared. I didn’t know my partner, we just found him just because he needed one, and we showed up and did good. Then I was like, “OK, next year we’re going to come back, and we’re going to do good.”
Q: You’ve won this deal before, tell me about it.
A: That next year, I came back and roped with Cross Ringelstein. Me and Cross had never really roped before together, so we used the qualifying rounds as a place that we could get some runs together. I think we got a leg on our first one, clean on our second one and placed in the average. I think we had a no-time in the semifinals—I think I missed the semifinal round—but we were already guaranteed a spot through the nominations and the points and everything, so we ended up coming back and then we won the final round.
Q: This year, you mentioned stepping into a new division—what is the gameplan now?
A: This year, I’m actually going to switch ends—I’m pretty excited. I finally get to step up into the older age group, so I’m kind of excited to try something new. I’ve been doing that the last three years, so I’m excited for some new competition.
Q: You’re sitting high in the standings on both ends—how do you balance heading and heeling?
A: I feel like roping’s roping. I rope switch-end every day at my house. Get on a head horse, get on a horse heel—I grew up doing both. I mean, it’s just roping.
Q: Do you consider yourself more of a heeler or a header?
A: I always have this deal where the only time I really want to head is for somebody that heels better than me, so I call myself a heeler. I get the opportunity to rope with a lot of great heelers, so that’s about the only time I crack out my head rope. But I’m definitely a heeler; I just head when I find a good run.
Q: What’s something you’ve been working on lately to keep getting better?
A: I don’t think I’ve done just crazy leaps and bounds with my rope necessarily, but I’m definitely changing around some horsepower and got quite a few new string of horses that I’m trying to get with and click. And I mean, it’s been a little bit of a struggle, you know how that is when you get a new one, but I’m finally clicking with them and I think it’s getting a lot better. Horses are everything.
Q: You said you’ve been rebuilding your heel horse herd, tell me about that.
A: I just bought a 9-year-old mare, her name is Lucy. They did the reining cow horse show type stuff on her. Jared Woody trained her as a colt, and then I bought her and I’ve been clicking with her. I’d say her strengths are that she’s super free and forgiving for the jackpots, super fast, has a big stop and just really wants to be easy to catch on.
Then the other one I just got, his name is Cash. He is a 7-year-old big gelding and he’s a switch-ender, but I’m mainly going to heel on him. He is just, I mean, about as good as you can get.
Q: What’s your mindset like going into a big event like the WCJR?
A: I practice every day, so it’s not like I increase my practice necessarily, but I just try to make sure my horses are working good. I’m not a person that gets real riled up. I’ve been at the WCJR the last three years, so it kind of feels like home. I just try to stay calm, do my job and have faith in my partners and that it’s all going to work out.
Q: What makes the WCJR stand out compared to other youth events?
A: There’s youth events all across the world we go to for the money. The coolest thing for me is the experience. From the time you get there, it’s all very professional. They put on a great event; just all the people that put it on are very professional. I think what sets them apart is their professionalism and the event they put on.
READ: Heading to Guthrie for WCJR 2026: A Travel & Activity Guide for Families