The WPRA Tour Standings: Why are Some Cowgirls Chasing Tour Rodeos?

With the heightened impact of limited entry rodeos, the WPRA offers members multiple avenues to potentially compete at some of the biggest rodeos in the nation

The old adage "there's more than one way to skin a cat" is a bit disturbing, albeit true. For WPRA cowgirls, there are a lot of ways to be successful in rodeo and one perhaps lesser known opportunity is the WPRA Tour.

Introduced in 2015, The WPRA Tour was created to offer members who may not rodeo full-time a way to participate at the highest levels.

So, what is the WPRA Tour?

During the professional rodeo season (October 1 - Septmber 30), the Tour is comprised of 60 rodeos. The twelve circuits in the United States are all represented, with five Tour rodeos in each. There are certain criteria for these rodeos: they must have $5,000 or less in added money and they cannot be a limited entry event. The rodeo can have one or multiple rounds. For a rodeo with multiple rounds, points are allocated based only on the average.

How do the WPRA Tour Standings affect professional rodeo cowgirls?

Qualifying for limited entry rodeos can be a make or break factor for a competitor trying to make the National Finals Rodeo. While the WPRA encourages all rodeos to be open to entry for all members, some remain "limited," only taking a set number of contestants. The WPRA has a policy regarding limited entry rodeos, including a suggested fill order.

Members from prior and current year World Standings, as well as prior and current year Circuit Standings are recommended in certain percentages to fill these rodeos. Cowgirls from the WPRA Tour Standings are also included. Essentially, the top competitors in the Tour are fairly considered for limited entry rodeos, along with the highest ranked in the World and Circuit Standings.

What does this mean for a competitor who does not rodeo full time?

There is no minimum or maximum number of rodeos for a member to attend, but WPRA Tour Standings will count only the top seven where a contestant wins money. The standings are point based and awarded by the number of places paid. Ties are broken by the total money won at the best seven rodeos.

Theoretically, by utilizing the Tour rodeos, a member could qualify for limited entry events and set up their next season for great success on less than ten rodeos. While most cowgirls making the NFR have competed at 50-100 rodeos throughout the year, this is a significant difference.

We have already seen this successfully done, with cowgirls who never rodeoed full-time or rarely/never left their circuit qualifying for rodeos such as Calgary and Houston. Over the years, there have been multiple occasions where a win at one of these large rodeos has been the key factor in a competitor making the NFR.

The chance to compete at some of the most prestigious events in professional rodeo is a dream come true for many athletes, but the possibility of capitalizing on one of those to qualify for the NFR is nothing short of a fairytale.

Sixteen of the 60 Tour Rodeos for the 2024 season remain, with the final three taking place in the last week of the season. Although many of the cowgirls in the top of the Tour standings will not be at the NFR in 2024, they have been working all year to potentially set themselves up for a trip to Vegas in 2025. We will be keeping an eye on this race over the next month, as we prepare for the season to end.