WRCA to Host First-Ever WRCA Youth World Championship Ranch Rodeo in 2021

The Working Ranch Cowboys Association board of directors recently approved the addition of a Youth World Championship Ranch Rodeo to be held in conjunction with the 26th WRCA World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo, Texas, on November 11–14, 2021.

“Our youngsters are so important. They are the next generation of our ranching community,” said John Welch, WRCA president. “We have been looking for the right time to make this event happen, and that time is now.”

In 2019, WRCA board members Tripp Townsend and Grant Mitchell volunteered to hold a youth ranch rodeo in conjunction with the WRCA sanctioned ranch rodeo in Earth, Texas. It proved successful, and in 2020 there were four WRCA youth ranch rodeos planned before COVID.

“WRCA has seen multiple youth on adult ranch teams over the years,” said Leman Wall, WRCA association manager. “At an early age they would usually ride in the grand entry and be in team photos. As they got older, they would run the iron in the branding and then progress as teenagers to highly competitive members of their ranch team.”

The WRCA youth ranch rodeo events will be geared for youth members 16 years of age and under. Up to eight WRCA youth ranch teams will compete for the first-ever WRCA Youth World Champion title on November 13, 2021. Wall said, “These kids deserve the chance to prove their talents against competitors their own age. We are grateful to our sanctioned rodeos for offering the qualifier events that make all this possible.”

The first-ever WRCA Youth World Championship Ranch Rodeo will be held at 2 p.m. on November 13 at the Amarillo Civic Center Complex in Amarillo, Texas. The current schedule for youth qualifier events is available on the WRCA website.