Premier Women’s Rodeo Finals 2026 Set to Overtake Cowtown Coliseum: Pro, Challenger and Limited Info

The four-day Premier Women’s Rodeo event runs May 12–15 at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth with $803,000 in total payout across barrel racing, breakaway, team roping, and goat tying and roughstock events.

It’s the first championship under the Premier Women’s Rodeo banner. PBR rebranded the former Women’s Rodeo World Championship to PWR in November and kept the four-discipline format and Pro/Challenger/Limited division structure. The competition runs Round 1, Round 2, semi-finals, and championship round at Cowtown, then moves Saturday’s awards presentation to Dickies Arena alongside the PBR World Finals.

• Experience Pays: Cheyenne Wimberley Conquers Women’s Rodeo World Championship, Earns $63,400
• Fame Fire Rocks Crosses $500K LTE With Women’s Rodeo Championship Win Beneath Taycie Matthews
• Limited Barrel Racer Charmaine Holdren is Headed to AT&T Stadium

What’s new for 2026

• The Premier Women’s Rodeo banner debuts at the Championship after PBR announced the rebrand of the WRWC in November. PWR and its predecessor have paid out more than $4.5 million to women athletes since 2020.
• The Championship Round opens to 50 advancement positions, including six Pros and six Challengers in barrel racing, breakaway, and team roping, and one Limited in barrel racing and breakaway.
• The PWR champion will now be crowned after the championship finals at Cowtown Coliseum, whereas the WRC champions competed during the PBR World Finals. Instead, the awards presentation will be held on Saturday at Dickies Arena during the World Finals.
• Tuesday and Wednesday rounds at Cowtown are free admission to the public.

Table of contents

• What’s new for 2026
• 2026 PWR Roster
• Format and divisions
• Schedule
• Prize money and titles
• How to watch
• Tickets and travel
• Defending champions
• The PBR partnership

2026 PWR Roster

Pro Division

Leaderboard No. 1: Bella Skinner. Defending Pro Barrel Racing world champion: Makenzie Mayes (note: Mayes does not appear on the 2026 leaderboard roster as released).

Challenger Division

Leaderboard No. 1: Tatum White. Defending Challenger Barrel Racing world champion: Kelsey Howard (now in the Pro field for 2026).

Limited Division

Leaderboard No. 1: Katelyn Perkins. Defending Limited Barrel Racing world champion: Charmaine Holdren (now in the Pro field for 2026).

Format and divisions

PWR runs three divisions to keep competition equitable across skill levels: Pro, Challenger, and Limited. Athletes earn entry through the year-round Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) point system, plus Qualifier Series and Fast Track generic qualifications. Up to eight Last Chance Qualifiers are also seeded into the field.

In barrel racing, the top 20 of each Pro and Challenger leaderboard advance, along with all VRQ-eligible qualifiers. The Limited Division pulls the top 20 from the W26 Limited Leaderboard in both barrel racing and breakaway roping.

From the Championship’s Round 1 and Round 2 (Tuesday and Wednesday), the field cuts to a Semi-Finals Round (Thursday), and the Championship Round (Friday) crowns the event titles. World Championship cumulative points accrue across the qualifying segment (April 14, 2025 – April 12, 2026) and through the PWRC qualifying rounds, semis, and aggregate. The Championship Round itself does not contribute to those cumulative points.

Schedule

All times CST

Prize money and titles

The 2026 PWRC awards a record $803,000. Beyond the event paychecks, the title structure stacks bonuses for the season-long leaderboard winners and the All-Around effort across disciplines.

World Champions will be crowned in every discipline from both the Pro and Challenger leaderboards. The All-Around World Championship is awarded based on combined Pro and Challenger points.

How to watch

PWR has confirmed PBR RidePass as the live home for Tuesday through Thursday. Friday’s Championship Performance and Saturday’s Dickies Arena presentation broadcast details are still pending. premierwomensrodeo.com and pbr.com will have the full lineup.

Tickets and travel

• Tickets: AXS — axs.com (Cowtown Coliseum). Free admission Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Arena: Cowtown Coliseum, 121 E. Exchange Ave, Fort Worth, Texas 76164.
• Parking: Lot 5, the dirt lot next to Billy Bob’s.
• Stalling and RV: All stalling and RV reservations route to the Will Rogers Memorial Center via openstalls.com or 432-301-6982. No stalling at Cowtown.
• Hotels: PWR athletes and fans use the PBR World Finals hotel block — pbrworldfinals.com/where-to-stay.

Defending champions

Last year’s PWR World Champions back at Cowtown:

The PBR partnership

PWR is PBR’s wholly-owned women’s rodeo brand. At the November rebrand announcement, PBR CEO and Commissioner Sean Gleason said: “PBR is all-in on women’s rodeo. Empowering all levels of female rodeo athletes with more money, more visibility, and more opportunity than ever will inspire competitors, fans and partners.”

PWR Commissioner Linsay Rosser Sumpter framed the move as continuity rather than a reset: “Premier Women’s Rodeo isn’t starting over; we’re continuing the legacy with new momentum.”