This week, the West Texas Ranch Rodeo (WTRR) will make history by hosting its first-ever women’s class in Ranch Bronc Riding.
On Friday, April 24, a group of 20 female competitors with the Women’s Bronc Riding Championships will kick off the event at 7:30 p.m. This will be the fifth year of the WTRR, being held at the Amarillo National Center at the Tri-State Fairgrounds, and it is set to be an exciting event with the addition of the women’s riders.
First established by Randall and Carrol Whipple, along with Lane and Traci Provence, the WTRR is focusing the 2026 rodeo on celebrating women in agriculture and supporting future generations by encouraging youth participation in many activities.
Whipple said he is excited for the addition of the women and looks forward to what the audience will think.
“The fact that we’re going to have a whole series of women ride in this event is just super for us,” Whipple said. “And it’s a worldwide situation, and so that’s real exciting for us, and the fact that Amarillo is now one of the, what you could say, one of the stops on the road to Cheyenne. … I think it’s going to generate a lot of enthusiasm, because women bronc riders are unusual, and they’re exciting to watch. So this will be a lot of fun.”
The first half of the 1st Go-Round of the Women’s Ranch Bronc Riding will be 7-10:30 p.m. Friday, followed by the second half at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Bronc riding has primarily been thought of as a sport for men; however, the WRBC was established to combat that stereotype and hosts women-only schools and travels with teams of women every year. Established in 2016, WRBC’s tour is now referred to as The Trail To Cheyenne, one of the world’s most infamous rodeo locations and the location of the championships for the women riders.
For last season’s runner-up Rookie of the Year and current leader of the U.S. team standings, Daniella Petrucci, it all started with a dream to ride a bronc.
“I had told everyone ‘I want to Bronc ride,’ and they were like, ‘You’re crazy; you’re never gonna do it,’” Petrucci said. “[That] really lit a fire inside of me and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do it. Whatever it takes, I’m gonna do it.”
After discovering the WRBC and their schools, she begged her parents for her 16th birthday to enroll her at the school. She participated in their school in Parshall, North Dakota, and fell in love.
“We traveled all the way up to North Dakota for one of the schools, and after I had sat on my first bronc, I was set. I knew that that was what I wanted to do,” Petrucci said. “So after that I started, I joined the circuit, and I’ve been traveling with the team ever since. And honestly, it has been the greatest experience and opportunity. I’ve met so many great people and had so many great experiences. I mean, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s been awesome.”
A Florida native, Petrucci grew up not riding gators (except once), but riding horses. She eventually got into the world of jumping before switching gears to compete in bronc riding.
“A lot of the girls surprisingly do have show jumping backgrounds, and what I found is that it actually, with how different it is, it honestly helps a lot, because when you’re show jumping, you’re riding the front end of the horse, but it’s also like a reverse buck, in a way,” Petrucci said.
Ally Bradley, a second-year competitor and 2025 Rookie of the Year, will also be competing this weekend in Amarillo. Bradley said she was feeling lost after a breakup and missed her old self. When she jokingly told her farrier, a bull rider, that she wanted to ride a bull, he called her bluff.
“I was like, oh, dang, I guess I’m going bull riding. So, I got on a couple bulls, and I loved the atmosphere of the rodeo and the people and kind of connection, but I didn’t really like the bull itself,” Bradley said. “I figured, I ride horses for a living, I’ve rode horses my whole life, so I was like, ‘Well, why don’t I just try it on a bronc?’”
Bradley then enrolled in the school the WRBC offers in Parshall, where she met Petrucci, and she has been competing ever since.
Bucking the stereotype
When faced with backlash about defying gender norms in their sport, the women had some tactics and advice on how they handle it.
“You do struggle with it at times, but it’s kind of just something you have to let it go in one ear and out the other and just focus on you and do you. And as much as people can talk, you can’t let them get in your head about it. It’ll only make you ride worse. But if you just block them out, then it’s like they’re not even there,” Petrucci said.
Bradley said her support from being in the WRBC with other women helps her get past the stigma.
“I really do just kind of close that off and stick with my gals, and because I know the other girls, they’re going through the same thing. So, you just got to drown out the noise and, you know, listen to your buddies and just be like, ‘Yeah … we do belong here, and I don’t need to feel any other way,’ and just kind of keep rolling through like that,” Bradley said. “You get bucked off whether you’re a man or a woman, so you’ve just got to keep rolling with it and keep your head up and keep trying, keep showing up.”
Bradley said that more than anything, she relies on and enjoys the support she gets from her fellow WRBC competitors.
“It’s a really unique opportunity, especially because it’s for women. You know, there are plenty of open rodeo schools, but I do really like when it’s just me and the gals. … It’s so cool to just be with like-minded women,” Bradley said. “I think something that the WRBC does a really good job of is, I don’t feel a lot of that stigma when I’m with them. I do feel very, very supported.”
Bradley went on to give advice to any women interested in joining the sport.
“I think it’s really important to keep a really good support system, really find people that align with your goals and kind of your curiosities about the sport,” she said.
Petrucci, 18, said her support system is her parents and family.
“My parents are two of my biggest supporters,” she said. “I’m so blessed to have them in my life and have them support me, because a lot of people don’t have that support from their family, especially in such a dangerous sport. A lot of parents aren’t very keen on that, but I’m so blessed and thankful that my family has been nothing but on board throughout this journey.”
Bradley also commented on how important support and relationships inside the circuit are as well.
“It’s very, very important, (in) our association as well, just leaning on the other girls, the other girls that I compete with. I think it’s kind of a rarity to see in sports sometimes, but the other girls are so nice and so supportive,” Bradley said.
She emphasized how impactful her friendship with Petrucci is, noting how they understand each other and their shared struggles.
“Last year where we were both gunning for rookie of the year. It got so tight at the end, and we just kind of looked at each other one day at dinner. And I was like, ‘I don’t care who wins it, me or you, but if I win it, I’ll buy your next set of chips and salsa and a taco, and if you win it, you owe me dinner,'” Bradley said. “So I ended up winning that year, and I went and we sat down at the Mexican restaurant. And I bought her dinner, and I said, ‘Thank you so much,’ because she put a hell of a lot of pressure on me to perform because she’s so talented.”
Petrucci, Bradley and 18 other women will be competing in Amarillo for their spot in the The Trail To Cheyenne Women’s Ranch Bronc World Finals in July. Rodeo attendees can support these women this weekend at the WTRR and enjoy this and other competitions, including blacksmiths, ranch teams and youth teams, as well as food and vendors of all kinds.
For the full schedule of events and more details, as well as to purchase tickets, visit the rodeo’s website, https://wtranchrodeo.com/ .
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: West Texas Ranch Rodeo hosts first women’s bronc riding class
Reporting by By Ashlyn Harvell, Special to the Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
