Womens Ranch Bronc Champions Showcase Year of the Cowgirl

The best female roughstock competitors from across the globe battled it out for the Women’s Ranch Bronc Riding World Championship as part of Cheyenne Frontier Days on Sunday.

Allysa Spierings, top, and Katie Coker, bottom, competed for the World Ranch Bronc Championship at Cheyenne Frontier Days on Sunday as part of the rodeo. This year, CFD unveiled a statue of a woman riding a bucking horse in tribute to the Year of the Cowgirl. / Action photos by Jackie Jensen/JackieJensenPhotography.com; Statue photo courtesy of Cheyenne Frontier Days

No matter how many times she climbs in the chute and nods her head, the moment still leaves Allysa Spierings a bit awestruck. 

Staring up at more than 10,000 fans inside Cheyenne’s Frontier Park Arena, the Missouri native raised her fist and beamed in celebration. For the third straight year, she was leaving the Wyoming rodeo with a world title in hand, this time sharing the Women’s Ranch Bronc Championship (WRBC) with fellow Team USA competitor Katie Coker. The pair tied for the aggregate with 159 points on two rides. 

Women's Ranch Bronc Championship competitors Katie Coker, left, and Allysa Spierings, right, each scored 159 points on two head to share the 2024 WRBC World Title. / Alex Riley/Sports Illustrated

She’s competed at some of professional rodeo’s biggest showcase events in her career, yet with each ride Spierings’ nerves seem to turn up. 

“It’s definitely overwhelming, especially for a little old gal that used to just ranch rodeo with my grandma looking on in a lawn chair,” Spierings said with a laugh. “But it’s indescribable. The air just crackles around you and there’s so much energy, it’s a huge blessing to be able to be on this stage in front of everybody and just competing to the best of our ability.”

The showcase of women competing in roughstock has become a staple in Cheyenne since 2018 when founders Michelle and Daryl McElroy began working on a plan to crown a champion at one of the most historic summer rodeos. Cheyenne has served as the season-culminating event ever since. 

This year, the WRBC brought in the best female bronc riders from the United States, Canada and Australia to battle it out. The nine qualifiers were given two rides each, with Spierings and Coker sharing the honor for 2024. 

The event took on an even bigger spotlight this year as the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo declared the 128th installment of the rodeo the Year of the Cowgirl. The celebration was complete with a towering statue of a female bronc rider adjacent to the memorial bronze sculpture for Chris Ledoux just outside the park next to the midway. 

“That’s cool. There’s not much else you can say but that’s cool,” said reserve champion Pearl Kersey from Team Canada. 

A three-foot tall, 200-pound replica of the statue was going to be presented to the winners in the women’s ranch bronc riding as well as barrel racing and breakaway roping. Because Spierings and Coker split the title, the plan is to have the ranch bronc statue remain on exhibit in the Old West Museum and be used much like hockey’s Stanley Cup, with each year’s champion added to the base. 

In honor of the Year of the Cowgirl, the Women's Ranch Bronc, Barrel Racing and Breakaway Roping Champions will also be taking home a replica bronze of "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls"

Posted by Cheyenne Frontier Days™ on Wednesday, July 17, 2024

It’s another example of the growth of women’s opportunities in professional rodeo. 

For years, barrel racing was the lone event women competed in regularly with occasional entrants in team roping. Decades ago, there were other events for female athetes, including women’s saddle bronc riding which CFD featured from 1906-1927. 

Recently, many rodeos have begun adding breakaway roping as an additional women’s-only event. Both barrel racing and breakaway roping are overseen by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). 

The McElroys started ranch bronc riding for women in 2016 at a rodeo in Texas, intending it as a one-off showcase. At the time, a television crew was filming the rodeo and the footage went viral. T

he decision was made to put together a 10-stop tour in 2017 which was captured on video and shared with the world. From there, the league has exploded, with footholds in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe. The total number of registered participants stands at around 100 riders, with more new faces looking to join frequently. The WRBC holds two training schools each year at Four Bears Casino in Newton, N.D., which takes potential competitors through everything they would need to know to compete. 

“We knew longterm this was going to grow. We had some people tell us this was going to be a flash in the pan. ‘Oh, it’ll be two years and then the novelty will wear off,’ – the novelty has not worn off,” Daryl McElroy said. 

For the McElroys, the end goal is simple – empower women with another opportunity to compete at some of rodeo’s biggest stages. 

Their connections have led to events at rodeos like Days of 76 in Deadwood, S.D., the Ponoka Stampede in Alberta, Canada, and the Steamboat Pro Rodeo in Colorado over the Fourth of July holiday. 

As more audiences – and potential future riders – learn about the competition, the goal is to keep the growth going. The Year of the Cowgirl might come and go, but the chance to trailblaze with something new doesn’t know a time limit. 

“I feel like we’re in a cowgirl renaissance right now. Cheyenne’s done a really good job making this the Year of the Cowgirl and branding it, putting us on a big stage, one of the biggest stages in the world – but women have always been around,” Coker said following her world title. “Women have always been in rodeo. We’re always here and women have a huge place in rodeo and I’m just glad we’re on the big stage and we get highlighted. There’s so many women out there that deserve the spotlight and I’m proud to be around them.”