Leading up to the 2023 Rodeo Corpus Christi, WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) has announced the final roster of the 335 athletes who have qualified and entered for the May 10-13 event and their date of competition.
Rodeo Corpus Christi is playing host to the first stop to the WCRA’s Triple Crown of Rodeo (TCR) during the 2023 series and will have a guaranteed payout of $553,000. Each champion will walk away with a minimum of $15,000.
The roster is comprised of 262 timed event athletes and 73 roughstock athletes who qualified by nominating their efforts on the WCRA VRQ leaderboard.
Leighton Berry (Bareback Riding), Kody Rinehart (Saddle Bronc), Josh Frost (Bull Riding), Cody Devers (Steer Wrestling), Andrew Ward (Team Roping Header), Buddy Hawkins (Team Roping Heeler), Shad Mayfield (Tie-Down Roping), Julie Plourde (Barrel Racing), Martha Angelone (Breakaway Roping) and Trey Wallace (Steer Roping) all earned the No. 1 position on the leaderboard to be seeded into the Showdown Round.
Launched in 2019, the Triple Crown of Rodeo Presented by Lazy E Ranch and Arena is an annual bonus that will pay $1 million to any one athlete or collection of athletes who win first place in any three consecutive WCRA Major Rodeos. The most recent Triple Crown of Rodeo event was held in Fort Worth, Texas, in December 2022.
Athletes who are Triple Crown of Rodeo eligible are:
| DISCIPLINE | ATHLETE |
| Saddle Bronc | Isaac Diaz |
| Team Roping Heading | Wyatt Nelson |
| Team Roping Heeling | Buddy Hawkins |
| Tie-Down Roping | Kass Kayser |
| Breakaway Roping | Tiffany Shieck |
| Barrel Racing | Kassie Mowry |
| Bull Riding | Cole Fisher |
| Steer Wrestling | Cody Devers |
During the December 2022 event, Bareback Rider RC Landingham (Hat Creek, California) went into the event with two wins, only needing to win one more event to earn the bonus. Landingham rode supreme and punched his ticket to the $1 million WCRA Triple Crown of Rodeo cash bonus.
WCRA will hold timed event qualifying rounds (May 8-9) and all steer roping rounds of competition (May 6-7) in Robstown, Texas at Richard M. Borchard Regional Fair Grounds. All rough stock disciplines will be seeded directly into the progressive rounds (May 10-13) at American Bank Center.
To view the complete roster, please click HERE.
Since launching in May of 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $14.7 Million in new money to rodeo athletes. All rodeo athletes interested in learning more about the WCRA or the VRQ should be directed to wcrarodeo.com.
