2023 Women’s Rodeo World Championship Final

Athlete Roster Announced

Courtesy of WCRA Rodeo

FORT WORTH, Texas – Ahead of the 2023 Women’s Rodeo World Championship
(WRWC), scheduled to storm the Fort Worth Stockyards at the Cowtown Coliseum May
17-20, the organization has announced the final roster of 193 female rodeo athletes set
to compete.

The WRWC is the largest event purse in the history of women’s rodeo. It will pay out
$750,000 in 2023 while crowning World Champions in both the Pro and Challenger
classifications in the following disciplines: Team Roping (Heading and Heeling),
Breakaway Roping and Barrel Racing.

The fourth edition of the WRWC will be hosted at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth
May 18-20 in conjunction with the PBR World Finals, with a roster comprised of 50-
barrel racers, 46 team roping pairs, and 51 breakaway ropers.

The roster is highlighted by 2022 All-Around Cowgirl, Hope Thompson (Abilene,
Texas). Thompson earned the ultimate cowgirl accolade by accumulating World
Champions Rodeo Alliance leaderboard points, then putting an exclamation point on the
world all-around race with an impressive showing at the 2022 WRWC. With $231,000 in
WCRA earnings alone, Hope is the winningest cowgirl in the WCRA’s brief history. In
2022, she won $36,200 and has a shot at another $120,000 should she strike in both the
breakaway and team roping.

Hope has earned three WRWC titles—two in the heeling and the 2022 world all-around
crown. She won the first championship in 2020 heeling for Riley Smith (Whitsett, Texas),
where the two talented Texas women walked away with $110,000 each and the 2022
WRWC Challenger championship title.

The 2023 roster includes 2022 Breakaway Roping champion Martha Angelone
(Stephenville, Texas) and runner-up Britta Strain (Bryan, TX). In the Triple Crown of
Rodeo Round, a ferociously contested Breakaway Roping Event Championship race
capped off a slug-fest between Martha Angelone (Stephenville, Texas) and barrel
racer/breakaway roper Britta Strain (Bryan, TX).

Backed by a strong showing, including tying for the week’s fastest time, Angelone
surged to the top of the breakaway roping leaderboard after a 2.05-second time to win
the showdown round, besting Strain’s 2.29-second run. The 3x WRWC qualifier entered
the Triple Crown of Rodeo Round alongside Strain and Jenna Dallyn (Nanton, AB).

Strain delivered a groundbreaking performance at the event, as the string broke away
from her saddle horn at an impressive 2.04-second time, good for the fastest time of the
week. Angelone backed into the box and stopped the clock simultaneously with Strain,
tying for the event title. Angelone’s Showdown Round time was the tie-breaker decision.
As Angelone had a faster time than Strain in the showdown round, Angelone was named
the event winner.

The 2022 Team Roping champions Kylie Mclean (San Tan Valley, Arizona) and Megan
Gunter (Mccammon, Idaho) return this year. The duo earned a remarkable 6.65-second
time in 2022 to take home the top spot. Tracey Nelson (Mcdavid, Florida) and Kaylee
Billingsley (Phoenix, AZ) notched a valiant 7.96-second run to take the number two spot.
Mclean and Gunter took home $60,000 individually, a Jesse Jaymes Silversmith’s
buckle, and the WRWC barrel racing Event Champion Title.

To view the complete roster, please click here.

Each WRWC Event Champion will take home a minimum of $60,000, while the All-
Around Champion will collect a $20,000 cash bonus. The WRWC is a culmination of a
year-long race of women’s rodeo events worldwide. On May 17, WRWC will host a Last
Chance Qualifier where an additional 9-39 athletes will to the roster. The additions will
be based on discipline and entries.

All qualifying rounds of competition will be held May 18-19. The top 12 in each roping
event will advance to the May 18 Showdown Round. The top three from the Showdown
Round will progress to the Triple Crown of Rodeo Round to duke it out for the $60,000
prize. Barrel racers will be exempt from the showdown round, with 12 athletes advancing
directly to the Triple Crown of Rodeo Round.

Schedule of events….

The event will be broadcast daily on PBR RidePass on Pluto TV and Cowgirl Channel.

The 2023 WRWC will also be featured on Cowboy Channel the week of May 22 at 8
p.m. ET each night. Tickets are on sale now and start at $20. They can be purchased at the Cowtown
Coliseum Box Office or cowtowncoliseum.com.

The 2023 event is part of the inaugural Women’s Rodeo World Championship Week, the
richest women’s-only week of competition in Western sports, held during the 2023 PBR
(Professional Bull Riders) World Finals: Unleash The Beast. The week-long schedule of
events is slated to pay out $1.145 million in prize money, affording more than 800
women’s competitors the chance to compete for life-changing payouts. The Women’s
Rodeo World Championship Week will feature three marquee events, including the 2023
Women’s Rodeo World Championship, an NBHA (National Barrel Horse) one-day event,
and The Cowgirl Gathering.

Since launching in May 2020, the WRWC has awarded more than $2.25 million in new
money to women’s rodeo athletes. For more information about the WRWC, visit
wrwc.rodeo.

-WRWC-

ABOUT WRWC
The Women’s Rodeo World Championship (WRWC) is the largest annual purse for a
women’s rodeo event and will payout more than $750,000 in 2023 while crowning World
Champions in the Women’s Rodeo disciplines; Team Roping, Breakaway Roping, and
Barrel Racing. An all-around champion will also be crowned. WRWC is a culmination of
a year-long race of women’s rodeo events worldwide. Athletes qualify for the WRWC by
earning points and leaderboard positions using the VRQ (Virtual Rodeo Qualifier). The
2023 championship event will occur at the historic Cowtown Coliseum May 18-20.

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