For the second consecutive year, the champions coming out of Rodeo Corpus Christi will form half of the WCRA’s Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo team. The WCRA Major event, part of the annual Buc Days Festival, takes place from May 6-10 at the American Bank Center on the Corpus Christi Bayfront. The total payout of more than $600,000 will dedicate more than $60,600 to each discipline.
The event starts on May 6 with the CEAT DY Showcase, where the future of rodeo competes for $55,000. These top youth athletes compete against each other on the same playing field as the pros. May 7 is the Wild Card Round. Athletes ranked 7-16 on the leaderboard will compete, and the four fastest times/highest scores will advance to the progressive rounds (May 8-9) to join the athletes ranked 1-6 on the leaderboard. The May 10 Showdown Round will consist of the winners of progressive rounds one and two and the top four from the progressive rounds based on a two-head aggregate. The top three scores/times will advance to the Kid Rock Rodeo Round (the top six barrel racers will only run in the Kid Rock Rodeo Round), where each champion will walk away with $15,000 and a spot on the WCRA’s Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo team.
New to Rodeo Corpus Christi, the 2025 event will use the Kid Rock N Roll Rodeo Light System to start each timed event discipline. There will be no traditional barrier to start the run time. The event will use a drag racing-style light, going from a blue light to a single red light, double red lights, yellow lights, and a final green light. Once the light turns green, the athlete’s time will begin. This lighting and start system will be used at AT&T Stadium during the 2025 Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo. An example of lighting start can be seen HERE.
“It is not very often an athlete can compete against 16 others for over half a million-dollar payout and then advance to an event with a payout like the Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote. “Last time in Corpus, athletes such as Clayton Sellers earned over $34,000 at the event. Bayleigh Chote won nearly $30,000 and then went on to Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo, earning an additional $28,000 within the same week.”
As of April 6, the top 16 athletes on the 2025 Rodeo Corpus Christi Leaderboard (RCC25) in each discipline will compete for their piece of the over $545,500 purse across nine disciplines which include – Bareback Riding, Women’s Breakaway Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping Heading, Team Roping Heeling, Tie-Down Roping, Barrel Racing, and Bull Riding. To learn how to nominate and earn leaderboard points, please visit HERE.
In addition to the $545,500 WCRA Major Rodeo, a purse over $55,000 will be awarded to WCRA Division Youth (DY) athletes at the 2025 CEAT Division Youth Showcase Rodeo. This youth rodeo showcase will take place in a special Tuesday night performance in American Bank Center and will be followed by a live concert similar to the standard pro rodeo performances each night Wednesday through Saturday.
“We are excited about our continued partnership with WCRA and PBR and to see this expansion of Rodeo Corpus Christi athletes competing on Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo team,” said Buccaneer Commission President & CEO Johnny Philipello. “We have always tried to be on the cutting edge of rodeo, and this innovation to the start of each run just raised the bar for athletes and our fan base.”
In May 2024, at the inaugural Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo, the WCRA Free Riders rode lights out, winning three gold medals in Round 1 before cementing their title as champions by winning four of the disciplines in the championship round. The team won a total of $500,000 for the victory, with each team member taking home nearly $28,000. The Free Riders were the lone team not formed by the Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo Draft.
The 2025 WCRA Team will include champions from every discipline except bull riding. The bull riding champion will secure a spot in the PBR World Finals Redemption Round in Fort Worth. The next Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo is set for May 2025 during PBR World Finals Week.
The Rodeo Corpus Christi Champions will join the 2024 WCRA Rodeo Carolina Champions to complete the WCRA Free Riders Roster to defend their championship title.
Any athlete can nominate and qualify for the 2025 Rodeo Corpus Christ to make the 2025 team. Nominating an event with WCRA means the organization will track your results for the event. Nominations for Rodeo Corpus Christi are now open and close on April 6, 2025.
Format and competition information will be available HERE.
Rodeo Corpus Christi, hosted on the Corpus Christi Bayfront, takes place during the annual Buccaneer Days Festival in early May, bringing together more than 120,000 attendees to promote tradition and community pride in the Coastal Bend by producing exceptional family entertainment that results in educational scholarships.
Since launching in May 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $18.2 million in new money to rodeo athletes.
