ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The Texan Barrel Race is a new type of rodeo event being held for the first time at the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene. This national tournament has become a hot topic not only because of its unique format, but also because of the unusually large prize money at stake.
“This level of competition and reward hasn’t existed yet, and that’s what we’re bringing to Abilene. The facilities here are amazing,” said Chris, event organizer and owner of Group W Productions.・Mr. Woodruff praised it highly.
Although Woodruff has hosted many large rodeos and trade events in Las Vegas, he returned to his home state of Texas to compete in this exciting new form of barrel racing, which he calls “The Texan.” He told KTAB/KRBC that he was happy to be able to debut the group.
“Next month is the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas…The prize money is $1 million, but to get there you have to earn your own money. And you have to be one of the top 15 barrel racers in the world. A few of them are barrel racers.’They’re competing here this week,” Woodruff said.
With nearly 900 contestants vying for a chance, the prize money up for grabs is huge. Daily prize pools are up to $1,500, plus $100,000 in prize money and a Seven Saddles saddle for the 1D champion in each division.
The format has also changed. At The Texan, a contestant can enter up to three times, with each entry allowing him two runs to count toward prize money. This gives some people a chance to earn multiple ranks for a total of 6 runs.
“It’s unheard of for fourth and fifth place D (division) to be worth 50,000, 40,000, 30,000 and second place to be 20,000. Look, that horse is probably only worth about 20,000 to 15,000. “Yes,” Woodruff explained.
Contests at this level typically award grand prize prizes to participants, but this nearly $1 million prize is being funded by Woodruff and his company, Group W Productions.
“Football players make millions of dollars. Rodeo athletes are still the least paid…Someone has to step into this industry and say they believe in the industry. We We have a great product,” Woodruff told KTAB/KRBC. “Hopefully we can set a new standard on the barrel racing side of things.”
Taylor County Expo Center Executive Director and Vice President Rochelle Johnson said this type of high-profile national event is exactly what she and her team have worked to attract.
“That’s exactly why we built Taylor Telecom Arena and First Financial Pavilion and upgraded Guitar Arena…We knew that with better facilities, we could attract bigger events. ” Johnson boasted.
Johnson said The Texan is a completely new event, with support and investment from the community allowing them to host larger and larger events. After seeing our facility aired on the Cowboy Channel, Mr. Woodruff said Abilene would be the perfect backdrop for this first national outing.
“I know the city and county have made a huge investment in this facility…Rochelle and the team here have really taken care of us and the city has backed us as well.Abilene is the perfect place to host this type of event,” Woodruff said.
Johnson said this positive word of mouth and increased notoriety has made it easier for Abilene to compete in events on the national stage.
“Maybe even if we weren’t a tourist attraction,” Johnson added. “We have a lot of great things here that make small communities happy to come because we can treat them better.”
As of Monday, there are still several open spots available for contestants. The exhibition opens on Monday 16th October and the event will run until Sunday 22nd October. General admission is free.