$62,500 up for Grabs for Bull Riding Champion at Stampede at the E

By: Darci Miller

PUEBLO, Colo. – When world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme won the WCRA’s Royal City Roundup in Kansas City in February, there was one thing missing: the big check.

Because there were no rides in the showdown round, and Leme won by virtue of his 91.25-point ride on Outlaw in Round 1, he didn’t get to take home the $50,000 bonus awarded to the winner of each discipline.

Now, with the WCRA returning to action at Stampede at the E in Guthrie, Oklahoma, on Aug. 11-15, that $50,000 is back in play.

While $12,500 will be awarded to the winner in the eight other disciplines – bareback riding, women’s breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and team roping (heading and heeling) – the bull riders will compete for a $78,000 purse, with the winner receiving $62,500.

The Stampede at the E is a WCRA Triple Crown of Rodeo (TCR) event. Each event champion will be eligible for the TCR, an annual bonus that pays a $1,000,000 cash award to any one athlete or collection of athletes who win first place in any three consecutive WCRA Triple Crown Designated Rodeos.

Fans can watch Stampede at the E on CBS on Saturday, Aug. 29.

 
The Unleash The Beast will also be returning to Guthrie for the historic Bullnanza event on Aug. 14-15. This comes after the Lazy E Arena hosted three closed-to-fans premier series events in April and May.

The Aug. 15 Stampede at The E will be preceded by a qualifier for the timed event disciplines, which will raise the week’s total payout to upwards of $600,000.

In each timed event discipline, the main event will consist of the number one athlete from the WCRA Leaderboard, the top qualifying DY (youth) athlete, and eight athletes from the qualifying rounds.

Rough stock athletes ranked 1-10 on the segment six WCRA Leaderboard as of July 26 will earn a direct position into the $300,000 main event. In bull riding, that crop of athletes currently includes No. 1 Leme, No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira, No. 3 Colten Jesse, No. 4 Derek Kolbaba, No. 5 Taylor Toves, No. 6 Keyshawn Whitehorse, No. 7 Chase Outlaw, No. 8 Daylon Swearingen, No. 9 Aaron Pass and No. 10 Cody Teel. This list is subject to change and likely will with rodeos and bull riding scheduled over the weekend.

All 10 athletes in each discipline who qualify to compete in the main event will receive a paycheck.

The complete payout for the championship round featuring the Top 10 athletes in each discipline of the main event will be as follows:

1st place	$12,500 ($62,500 in bull riding)
2nd place	$6,250
3rd place	$2,250
4th place	$1,000
5th place	$1,000
6th place	$1,000
7th place	$1,000
8th place	$1,000
9th place	$1,000
10th place	$1,000

 
All athletes ages 13 and older who are competing in the Open To The World or DY Pools at the Stampede at The E must nominate the event in the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) prior to competing in the qualifier round or main event to be eligible for the TCR bonus. Stampede at The E Event Ground Rules will serve as official information on the TCR bonus and eligibility.

Athletes from around the world competing in the nine disciplines have the opportunity to nominate and earn points with the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) until July 26. All athletes competing in the WCRA Pools are automatically eligible for the TCR bonus.

Timed event athletes will have the opportunity to compete in the Stampede at the E through the WCRA Pools or through the “Open to the World Qualifying Pools.” These pools will give any athlete the opportunity to enter and earn a spot in the August 15 one-day $300,000 rodeo. In addition, the timed events will be multiple entry allowing athletes to potentially compete in both the WCRA Pool and Open Pool.

Entries for the Open to the World and DY pool will open July 13 at noon CT and close August 5 at 5 p.m. CT. Entry fees for the open division will be $625 while DY fees will be $500. All entries will be taken on entrytool.com.

All rodeo athletes interested in learning more about the VRQ should be directed to wcrarodeo.com or contact support@wcrarodeo.com.

© 2020 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.