Updates to 2023 RODEOHOUSTON Competition Have Been Announced

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced updates to the RODEOHOUSTON Competition, a 20-day tournament-style competition that crowns an event champion in bareback riding, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, women’s barrel racing and women’s breakaway roping.

Among the updates for 2023 RODEOHOUSTON:

• Women’s breakaway roping will now be held 20 consecutive nights of RODEOHOUSTON, Feb. 28 – March 19, 2023.
  • Women’s breakaway roping, sanctioned by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) debuted at RODEOHOUSTON in 2022, and was previously held for seven performances.
• RODEOHOUSTON will split its previous one-day Wild Card round into a two-day event, eliminating the RODEOHOUSTON Super Shootout from the schedule.
  • Wild Card round 1 will be held Friday, March 17
  • Wild Card round 2 will be held Saturday, March 18
  • The money from RODEOHOUSTON’s previous one-day Super Shootout event will now be redistributed toward the RODEOHOUSTON Super Series purse.
• The RODEOHOUSTON purse has increased to $2,178,000.
• RODEOHOUSTON will add two new local qualifiers, the Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo in Rosenberg, Texas, and the Waller County Fair & Rodeo in Hempstead, Texas, replacing the former qualifier, Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas.
  • Champions in each of the approved eight events, from each respective Rodeo, will be extended an invitation to compete at RODEOHOUSTON in 2023.

“We are committed to making RODEOHOUSTON the best it can be, for our fans and athletes alike, and as we look at our presentation and the growth across the sport of rodeo, we continue to evolve RODEOHOUSTON’s offerings, as well as our presentation,” said Chris Boleman, Rodeo president and CEO. “The RODEOHOUSTON Super Shootout was a great part of our Rodeo over the last decade, but with this redistribution of funds, and the inclusion of breakaway roping, our purse is now larger than ever before. We’re also excited to welcome Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo and Waller County Fair and Rodeo as our two new local qualifiers.”

RODEOHOUSTON Structure:

RODEOHOUSTON is organized into five three-day Super Series, two Semifinal rounds, two Wild Card rounds and a Championship round. Each series includes three rounds, with one round being performed each day. There are eight contestants in each of the eight rodeo events during the series. Each series advances the top four money winners in each event to one of the two Semifinal rounds, where 10 athletes compete in each event.

Both Semifinal rounds send the top four athletes in each event to the Championship, while the remaining six move to one of the two Wild Card rounds for a second chance at earning a spot in the Championship.

From both Wild Card rounds, the top one athlete in each event advances to the Championship on Sunday, March 19.

The Championship includes all 10 athletes competing in each event. The top four advance and immediately ride again in the Championship Shootout Round to determine the event champion and the $50,000 payout.

To view the 2023 RODEOHOUSTON schedule, click here.

“RODEOHOUSTON has been a longtime partner of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and we are excited to join them in their changes for 2023,” said Jimmie Munroe, WPRA president. “The addition of women’s breakaway roping to all 20 days is monumental and the increase in overall prize money for all rodeo athletes will be very beneficial. This is an exciting time for not only rodeo athletes but also their fans.”

RODEOHOUSTON is an official Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeo, has been a WPRA sanctioned event for decades, and is a PRCA NFR money event, with earnings from RODEOHOUSTON counting toward qualification for the NFR and the WPRA World Standings. Champions in all events earn $50,000 in addition to their previous round earnings.

“RODEOHOUSTON is an institution in the world of rodeo. For 90 years it’s been the largest event of its kind and we could not be more excited to see the purse increase to more than $2 million for next year’s event,” said Tom Glause, PRCA CEO. “Adding to the excitement, any PRCA athlete now has the chance to advance to compete at RODEOHOUSTON in 2023, thanks to additional qualifying events at PRCA rodeos in Rosenberg and Hempstead, Texas. We are thankful for the increased opportunities for our PRCA members at RODEOHOUSTON.”