OPEN ENTRY FOR THE 2024 CINCH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP JUNIOR RODEO IS NOW AVAILABLE

The WCRA Division Youth (WCRA DY) and the Lazy E Arena have announced that the Open Entries are now available for the Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo presented by Montana Silversmiths (WCJR) in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The event will take place from July 23-27, offering over $200,000 in guaranteed added money. It is open to any youth athlete aged 19 or under (as of the first day of competition). In 2023, the WCJR paid more than $407,000, creating the richest youth event in over two decades.

Entries for the youth world championship event opened on April 1 at 8 a.m. CT and will close on July 10. Entry fees for the Junior Division (ages 19-13) will be $350, while Youth Division (ages 15-10) will be $250 per entry. Athletes must submit a copy of their Birth Certificate and W-9 when entering. Birth Certificates and W-9 can be uploaded as part of the entry process through  nextgenrodeo.com.

All athletes participating in the event through Open Entry will begin their competition in the qualifying rounds.

Athletes who enter one or more disciplines between April 1 and May 10 will be eligible to spread their entry fee payments across 3-4 payments based on the date they enter within the Payment Plan window. Athletes are not required to use the Payment Plan feature and may opt to pay the entry fees in full at the time of entry. All payment plan info is HERE.

In 2023, each discipline payout earned the following:

Discipline	Earnings
Breakaway Roping	$58,920.00
Tie Down Roping	$32,280.00
Team Roping – Header	$44,320.00
Team Roping – Heeler	$44,320.00
Barrel Racing	$50,480.00
Pole Bending	$30,640.00
Goat Tying	$29,800.00
Steer Wrestling	$18,960.00
Bareback Riding	$10,840.00
Saddle Bronc Riding	$11,960.00
Bull Riding	$17,280.00
World Champ Bonuses	$22,000.00
World AA Champ Bonuses	$15,000.00
Event AA Champ Bonuses	$9,000.00
IronMan Payout	$11,400.00

Youth athletes can also get to the WCJR by earning a top 16 position in the 2024 WCRA Division Youth Leaderboard. Those leaderboard athletes will be seeded into the Semi-Final Round and earn a complimentary entry fee. Athletes can nominate their rodeo efforts and earn leaderboard points and positions until Sunday, June 26, at 11:59 p.m.

Athletes can earn a generic qualification to the WCJR by competing in a designated Qualifier Series event. The highest-placing nominated athlete at a Qualifier Series event earns a generic qualification to the 2024 WCJR regardless of leaderboard position.

All rodeo athletes interested in learning more about the WCJR can visit WCJRodeo.com.

The 2024 event is open to youth athletes competing in 11 disciplines, which include – Bareback Riding, Ladies Breakaway Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping Heading, Team Roping Heeling, Tie-Down Roping, Ladies Barrel Racing, Ladies Pole Bending, Ladies Goat Tying, and Bull Riding. WCJR athletes can enter only one age division and once per discipline. Roughstock events are Junior Divisions only.

The rocket that is Dylan Hancock’s budding rodeo career may have used the CINCH World Championship Junior Rodeo (WCJR) presented by Montana Silversmiths held July 23-29, 2022 in Guthrie, Oklahoma as the launching pad.

Competing in steer wrestling, team roping as both a header and a heeler, and in his signature event, the tie down roping, Hancock rolled to the All Around Championship at the second annual event held at world famous Lazy E Arena. Thanks to top ten finishes in all four disciplines, he earned an enormous $16,750.

“I didn’t get to go in 2021, but I sure wanted to,” Hancock, 18, noted of the forward-looking event’s inaugural year. “I was excited to get to go this time. It was a long week . . . busy.”

“It was awesome and I had a lot of fun.”

Hancock caught the rodeo bug from his family. His father Shane was a tie down roper as well, and younger sister Macy is a barrel racer and breakaway roper.

“I’ve done it all my life,” Hancock said. “I played baseball for awhile but rodeo is kind of all I ever wanted to do.”

Hancock was born in West, Texas but his family moved to San Angelo at age eleven, landing him in the heart of tie down roping country. While he says that tie down is his favorite event, he enjoys the challenge of competing in multiple events at one rodeo.

“It can be a lot at times,” Hancock laughed. “But I like it.”

“I just love the adrenaline of going back and forth between events.”

Already a decorated cowboy having earned All Around honors at the International Finals Youth Rodeo (IFYR) in 2021, Hancock was plenty busy during the 2022 WCJR. The format consists of two long rounds, progressive semi-finals for the top 16 with the top eight advancing again to the finals. The last two rounds are sudden death.  

In the team roping, he switched ends with partner Cinch Moody and they landed sixth with Hancock heeling and seventh with him heading in the finals.

“I don’t really head very much and that was the first time I had in a long time there in Guthrie,” Hancock admitted.

In the steer wrestling, Hancock was solid all week, placing in both rounds and the average; he was second in the finals.

Riding his good horse, Foxy, in the tie down roping, he rebounded from a tough first go to place in the second go and in the semi-finals before finishing out second in the finals there as well.

“I hadn’t had her too long [at Guthrie],” Hancock said of Foxy, 15. “She is super easy and solid. She let’s me do my deal.”

While he rode his own heel horse, Major, he borrowed horses in the steer wrestling and heading.

“Cade Walker was nice enough to let me on his horse in the steer wrestling,” he said. “In the heading, I rode Conley Kleinhans’ horse in the heading at the first of the week and then got on Denton Parish’s horse.”

“I’m very thankful for all of them for letting me ride their horses,” he continued. “You’ve always got your circle back there, your buddies, and that’s great.”

Hancock is now attending Cisco College, competing on their rodeo team; he’s looking to earn a Business degree. He also joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in early 2022, picking up a qualification to the Ram Texas Circuit Finals in October while still on his permit. He was consistent through four rounds and earned fourth in the average in a field stacked with Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) ropers and World Champions.

“I struggled for a long time there,” Hancock admitted of his early competitions in the ranks of ProRodeo. “I’m still not where I want to be but I’m a lot better than where I started!”

“My family and friends helped me get through it,” he said. “A lot of people have helped me through the years.”

Like many young rodeo athletes, he dreams of making his living with his rope.

“I think every little kid’s goal is to go to the NFR,” he said. “I’d like to win the world someday.”

While Hancock juggles college and ProRodeo—where he’ll be in the chase for a rookie title in 2023—he still has a couple of youth events on the docket before he’s done.

Thanks to winning the Jr. Ironman side pot offered alongside the competition in Guthrie at the WCJR, he’s earned a position in the prestigious Jr. Ironman presented by WCRA, held annually with the CINCH Timed Event Championships on March 2-4, 2023.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for that one,” he said of the event where ten cowboys compete in heading, heeling, tie down and steer wrestling across three rounds for a $20,000 first place payoff.

Hancock can also return to defend his All Around title when the WCJR returns to the Lazy E on July 25-29, 2023. The third annual event will partner with the World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) through their Division Youth (DY), crowning world titles in all disciplines in both the Junior (19 & Under) and Youth (13-15) classifications. The event will also feature $200,000 in added prize money.

“It’s awesome to have the opportunity to compete for the prizes and the money offered there,” Hancock said. 

About the CINCH World Championship Junior Rodeo presented by Montana Silversmiths

A collaboration between the Lazy E Arena and the WCRA, the WCJR is a unique youth rodeo event designed to offer rodeo athletes aged 19 and under a true world championship event. Competitors in 11 disciplines—bareback riding, ladies’ breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping heading & heeling, tie down roping, barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying and bull riding—will compete July 25-29, 2023 for world titles and a share of the $200,000 added prize money. For more information, visit wcjrodeo.com.

WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) and the Lazy E Arena have announced payout and cash bonus details for the 2023 Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo (WCJR) presented by Montana Silversmiths. The World Championship event is set to take place July 25-29, 2023, at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

In late July, the Lazy E Arena and the WCRA Division Youth (DY) announced they were going to join forces on the 2023 World Championship Junior Rodeo. The 2023 event will have over $200,000 in guaranteed prize money and is open to any youth athlete ages 19 and under (as of the first day of competition) in the world competing in 11 disciplines which include – Bareback Riding, Ladies Breakaway Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping Heading, Team Roping Heeling, Tie-Down Roping, Ladies Barrel Racing, Ladies Pole Bending, Ladies Goat Tying, and Bull Riding.

World Champions will be crowned in all disciplines from both the Junior Leaderboard (ages 19 and under) and the Youth Leaderboard (age 13-15) with $10,000 being paid out per discipline in the Junior Division ($110,000 total) while the Youth Division will award $5,000 per discipline ($35,000 total).

The organizations also recently announced the World Champions will be crowned in all disciplines along with All-Around World Champions from both the 19 and under (19U) Junior Leaderboard and the 13-15 Youth Leaderboard. Each World Champion will be awarded a piece of the $56,000 in cash bonuses. WCJR and WCRA DY Bonus details below:

Categories	Junior Cash Bonus	Youth Cash Bonus
WCRA DY Men’s All-Around World Champion	$4,000	$2,000
WCRA DY Ladies All-Around World Champion	$4,000	$2,000
WCRA DY World Champions Per Discipline	$2,000	$1,000
WCJR Men’s All-Around Champion*	$2,500	$2,500
WCJR Ladies All Around Champion*	$2,500	$2,500

*Indicated two places paid

World Championship cumulative points will accrue through the entire segment (May 2, 2022 – June 25, 2023) and extend through select rounds of competition during the world championship event.

The WCJR will also serve as a Jr. Ironman qualifier with the top five advancing to Jr. Ironman Championship held during the CINCH Timed Event Championship in March 2024. The Jr. Ironman Side Pot will have $5,000 added money with the mandatory disciplines: Steer Wrestling, Tie-Down Roping, Team Roping-Header, Team Roping-Heeler (must enter and participate in all four disciplines).

DY Athletes will have two opportunities to earn a position to the 2023 WCJR with no entry fees:

• The top 16 on the DY23 Leaderboard (by age classification, by discipline)
• Generic Qualification from a DY Qualifier Series event.

DY Qualifier Series (DYQS) are a group of events held prior to the 2023 WCJR where athletes who nominate and place in the top spot in their respected discipline at the DY Qualifier Series event will earn a generic qualification with no entry fees to the 2023 Championship. All qualifier series information is found here.

Athletes can qualify for the WCJR by nominating their rodeo efforts and earning points for the WCRA DY23 leaderboard positions using the VRQ (Virtual Rodeo Qualifier). Athletes have until June 25, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. to nominate and earn points. The top 16 on the leaderboard in each discipline will qualify for the event with no entry fees.

Lastly, athletes will also be able to enter the event through open entry and take their shot by competing through the qualifying rounds. Open entry dates will be released later.

WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) and the Lazy E Arena have announced a breakthrough collaboration on the World Championship Junior Rodeo (WCJR). The two properties will join forces to host the World Championship event in Guthrie, Oklahoma the week of July 24, 2023. 

The 2023 WCRA Division Youth (DY) event will award a guaranteed payout of $200,000 and is open to any youth athlete ages 19 and under (as of the first day of competition) in the world competing in 11 disciplines which include – Bareback Riding, Women’s Breakaway Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping (Heading and Heeling), Tie-Down Roping, Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Goat Tying, and Bull Riding. 

In February 2022, WCRA announced that roughstock disciplines (Bareback, Saddle Bronc and Bull Riding) in the Junior class were open for nominations along with Ladies Goat Tying and Ladies Pole Bending in all classifications.

“This partnership marks the beginning of a colossal step to growing the sport of rodeo among youth athletes nationwide and allowing them to qualify for a true world championship event,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote. “Being a 4x World Champion Bareback Rider, having the opportunity to grow opportunities for youth roughstock athletes is special and I couldn’t be prouder to help foster and cultivate the upcoming stars of rodeo.” 

World Champions will be crowned in all disciplines from both the Junior Leaderboard (ages 19 and under) and the Youth Leaderboard (age 13-15). 

Junior World Champions will earn $2,000 each while Youth athletes will be battling it out for the $1,000 World Champion Cash Bonus. The All-Around World Championship cash bonus (Junior= $4,000 Youth= $2,000) and Discipline World Champion Cash Bonus will be awarded based on total points earned from the combined classifications leaderboards. 

According to Mote, historically all DY nominations were $25 and the same points were offered whether you won your local jackpot or the legendary IFYR (International Finals Youth Rodeo).  Now, youth athletes will have a chance to nominate those local jackpots at a lower price point of $15.00 and receive a lower point scale at DY5.  

“What is unique about this partnership is that we have taken the best of two innovative rodeo properties that are designed to provide new opportunities for rodeo athletes and created an even better junior rodeo platform for youth of all ages,” said Dan Wall, Lazy E Arena General Manager. “There are multiple ways to qualify to the 2023 Semi-Finals Rounds and even more ways to win money at this event.” 

DY Athletes will have three opportunities to earn a position to the 2023 Championship event with no entry fees:

• Athletes can qualify by nominating their rodeo efforts and earning points for the WCRA DY23 leaderboard positions using the VRQ (Virtual Rodeo Qualifier). Athletes have until June 25, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. to nominate and earn points. The top 16 on the leaderboard in each discipline will qualify for the event with no entry fees. 
• Generic Qualification from a DY Qualifier Series event.
• Open Entry (entries will open will be announced at a later date) 

Since launching in May of 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $12,100,000 in new money to rodeo athletes. All rodeo athletes interested in learning more about the WCRA DY, the VRQ, or event format and payout details should be directed to dy.rodeo or download the WCRA DY app HERE.  

-WCRA-

Media Contact: Kyle Jones, [email protected]

About WCRA DY (World Champions Rodeo Alliance Division Youth):

WCRA DY is a culmination of a leaderboard race of rodeo events worldwide. Athletes can qualify for the July 2023 $200,000 World Championship Event at the Lazy E Arena by nominating their rodeo efforts and earning points for the WCRA DY leaderboard positions using the VRQ (Virtual Rodeo Qualifier). Athletes can nominate their rodeo efforts starting on May 2, 2022 and have until Sunday, June 25, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. to nominate and earn points. The top 16 on the leaderboard will qualify for the event with no entry fees.

About Lazy E Arena: 

The Fabulous Lazy E Arena – just southeast of Guthrie and northeast of Edmond/Oklahoma City – was established in December 1984, just in time for the ’84 National Finals Steer Roping Finals. Originator of the E, E.K. Gaylord II had a vision that both the National Finals Steer Roping Finals and the National Finals Rodeo would happen the same time, in the same area, creating the most epic days rodeo had seen. While the plan only worked for one year, as the NFR moved to Vegas in ’85, the legacy and standards E.K. set from the beginning still carry on today. From giving PBR its start to the Timed Event Championship of the World, the Lazy E has hosted world champions, world championships and personalities galore. In 2005, Gaylord sold the property to a partnership from Nevada, and in October 2013 the property was sold to the McKinney Family from Midland, Texas. The ownership group has long recognized not only the tremendous facility, but also the importance of the Lazy E’s place in Rodeo and Oklahoma history. The Family has committed to maintaining the Lazy E as the World’s premier western entertainment facility. Many updates and renovations are taking place at the Arena which will only enhance the lure of the Lazy E to the general population

Our goal is to create a contestant-friendly youth event that’s an additional opportunity for kids who rodeo. To be clear, we are not a sanctioning body or association, and this is a stand-alone event intended to complement the events of longstanding, successful youth rodeo organizations. We’re here to help grow this industry, and we’re glad you’re here to help us do just that. 

As for the innovative format we’ve chosen for the Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo—which includes two long rounds, a buyback round for those who want to take another swing at it, a semifinals and finals—we wanted to try something new. The way we see it, any kid can have a tough day. With our format giving every contestant multiple ways to win money and advance to the finals, those who break a barrier or get bucked off in one round won’t necessarily be out of it and can still have a lot of rodeo left to look forward to. There are various opinions and viewpoints on this subject, and we feel good about trying new things for the right reasons as we try to help grow the sport from the grassroots level.

The WCJR is the only qualifier event for the Jr Ironman presented by WCRA—which will again be held in conjunction with the Cinch Timed Event Championship here at the Lazy E next March— outside of the contestants who qualify by way of the National Little Britches Rodeo Association. We wish you all-around cowboys entered in all four timed events the best of luck in your pursuit of earning an invitation to participate in the prestigious Jr Ironman. 

We think big here at the Lazy E, and we hope to one day become the richest junior rodeo in the country. In the meantime, we promise to keep working hard to continue to do our part to raise the rodeo bar.

The Lazy E Arena saved the day for rodeo during last year’s countless COVID cancellations. The cowboy hub in centrally located Guthrie, Oklahoma, hosted such popular permanent fixtures as the Cinch Timed Event Championship and National Little Britches Rodeo Association Finals, and also made events like the National High School Finals Rodeo and Bob Feist Invitational Team Roping Classic possible in 2020. This summer, the Fabulous Lazy E is adding the July 27-31 World Championship Junior Rodeo presented by Montana Silversmiths to its all-star lineup, and with $115,000 in added money, an estimated total payout in excess of $450,000 and the goal of being the richest youth rodeo in all the land, the inaugural WCJR is sure to set a high bar for the rodeo record books. 

The WCJR will include bareback riding, breakaway roping, steer wrestling, team roping, goat tying, saddle bronc riding, pole bending, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding. Entries are open now, and all entry and stalling information can be found at wcjrodeo.com.

Buzz about the World Championship Junior Rodeo abounds amongst the 19-and-under cowboy and cowgirl crowd. Josie Conner, Briar Teague and Riley Webb are just three contestants who look forward to returning to the Lazy E to compete for rodeo riches this summer. 

“I love the Lazy E, and with great money at an amazing facility, I’m super excited about it,” said 17-year-old high school junior Conner from Iowa, Louisiana. “The people at the Lazy E are always super friendly and welcoming to us, and there are awesome little towns like Guthrie and Edmond nearby. The Lazy E is famous for hosting great events, so when they say they’re hoping to have the richest youth rodeo there is, I’ll be there.”

So many of Conner’s career highlights have come from the Lazy E, including the win at last fall’s Oklahoma’s Richest Open Breakaway Roping, which she followed up with the breakaway roping W a week later at the San Angelo (Texas) Roping Fiesta. Josie also was the reserve National High School Finals Rodeo breakaway roping champ, and second only to fellow Cajun cowgirl Josey Murphy.

“For the Lazy E to add $10,000 to every event is a big deal,” Josie said. “My dad (Jade, who’s renowned for helping all breakaway ropers behind the chutes and in the box) always tells me that I came up as a breakaway roper at a perfect time. There are so many more opportunities out there right now, and this one (the WCJR) is a no brainer.”

Teague of Rattan, Oklahoma, took the Jr Ironman title at the Lazy E in March after competing in three rounds each of heading, heeling, tie-down roping and steer wrestling. As the World Championship Junior Rodeo is the only qualifier for the 2022 Jr Ironman—which will again be held in conjunction with the Cinch Timed Event Championship at the Lazy E next March—Teague plans to enter all four of those events at the WCJR. 

Every contestant can enter each WCJR event one time, and team ropers can enter once as a header and another time as a heeler. There will be a side pot for contestants who enter all four of those Jr Ironman featured events, and the top five money winners in three or more events at the WCJR will qualify to compete at the 2022 Jr Ironman. 

“Every big youth rodeo and roping has been held at the Lazy E lately, and we all love that place,” said Teague, who’s 19 now, which meets the 19-and-under age requirement, which is as of opening day of the WCJR on July 27; also, anyone who’s eligible for the 2021 WCJR is eligible for the 2022 Jr Ironman. “The Jr Ironman was amazing. The chance to showcase my talent in so many events, and to try and be efficient at all of them was so cool. I’d go back to the Jr Ironman forever, if I could. The WCJR being a qualifier for it is reason enough to enter. The added money at the WCJR puts this event over the top.”

Teague will turn 20 in September, and is a sophomore at Western Oklahoma Junior College in Altus. So he’s been rodeoing for Coach Jess Tierney, who’s a past Timed Event Champion. 

“If the Lazy E has the goal of being the richest junior rodeo out there, I believe they’ll accomplish it,” Teague said. “They think big at the Lazy E, and the World Championship Junior Rodeo will prove it again.”

The WCJR format will include two long rounds, with the top three contestants from each round and the top eight in the two-head average advancing to the Semi Finals. The top two in each event from the buyback round also will advance to the Semifinals, for a total of 16 contestants per event in the Semis. The Semi Finals will start with a clean slate, with the top eight moving on to the Finals. The WCJR World Champions will be determined sudden-death style by the fastest times and highest scores in the Finals.

Webb won the 2020 NHSRA tie-down roping title at the Lazy E last July. He also headlined the World Champions Rodeo Alliance’s Stampede at the E last August, then followed that up by winning this year’s Rodeo Corpus Christi in May. Webb is now one win away from taking the WCRA’s Triple Crown of Rodeo, which is a $1 million bonus that goes to any athlete who wins three straight WCRA majors. The 2021 NHSFR in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the WCRA’s Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo in Salt Lake City both will be held the week before the WCJR.

“I love the atmosphere and the hospitality at the Lazy E,” said Webb, who’s a 17-year-old high school junior from Denton, Texas. “I love that place, and I’ll be there at the WCJR because of the $10,000 in added money in each event. That’s unusual. It’s great to be roping for all this money at this age. It’s an exciting time in our sport, and the World Championship Junior Rodeo is just another example of that.”