Qualifiers Offer WPRA Members Another Avenue to Winter Building Rodeos

The lucrative winter rodeos can offer a huge leg up in earnings... but how does one earn a spot in the limited-entry buildings such as Houston or San Antonio?

Sean Pokorny-Imagn Images

Throughout the past few years, there has been an even stronger push from the WPRA for limited entry rodeos to hold a qualifying event. For some of the biggest winter (and summer) rodeos, not all WPRA members can enter. The roster is chosen based on the standings of the prior year and sometimes the standings of the current year. There are also inclusions at some rodeos for WPRA Tour champions or the top two from the WPRA Finals Cardholder Race (November 9).

To include a broader number of their membership base, the WPRA encourages limited entry rodeos to offer as many options as possible to qualify. Another potential route is through a qualifying rodeo - as we saw with Calgary earlier this year.

This fall, qualifiers for some of the biggest winter rodeos kicked off right after the finish of the 2024 regular season. Rosenberg and Hempstead, Texas, were both qualifiers for Rodeo Houston.

At the Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo in Rosenberg, Stephanie Fryar punched her ticket to Rodeo Houston for 2025. Aboard Kenny Nichols and Dale Barron owned KN Streak N Fabulous (A Streak Of Fling x KN Fabs Gift Of Fame x Frenchmans Fabulous), Fryar clocked a 15.24 to take the $3,756 win by more than two-tenths of a second.

"Reba" found success early in her career at aged events and rodeos with Ivy Conrado-Saebens, who qualified for multiple NFRs on the mare's dam, "JLo." Fryar has also won at some of the biggest events in the country with her Frenchmans Fabulous son, Some Streakin French. Proving that what works, works, these cowgirls have paired incredibly well with these particular bloodlines. Fryar has been on a winning streak with Reba this fall.

The Waller County Fair and Rodeo in Hempstead was another qualifier for Rodeo Houston in 2025. Multi-million dollar rider and one of the best futurity horse trainers in history, Jolene Montgomery ventured away from the aged events with MCM Tres A Legacy (Tres Seis x Mulberry Canyon Moon x Marthas Six Moons).

"Tiffany" has had a standout futurity year, kicking it off by placing in the BFA Juvenile last November. Per Q Stallions as of 11/3/2024, Tiffany has earned $256,051 in the past eleven months. Owned by Dunn Ranch, the mare has won and placed solidly at nearly every major futurity this year. Although Montgomery has remained dedicated to the aged events, she felt that the young mare would thrive in the rodeo environment and purchased her WPRA card for the first time in several years.

At her first rodeo ever in a completely unfamiliar setup with no exhibitions, the four-year-old mare took the win by over a full tenth for a $3,207 victory and a guaranteed spot for the duo at Rodeo Houston in March.

Several other major rodeos will also have upcoming qualifiers, including Uvalde, Texas, November 18-23. This will be the qualifier for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo in February 2025.

The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, Colorado, has previously had a qualifier and although the date has not been officially released, it is likely that this event will happen again for 2025.