Steer wrestling world champion Jacob Edler is one of the 384 contestants who entered next weekend’s Oklahoma City ProRodeo presented by Tractor Supply Co. and is also part of the more than one-third who reside in Oklahoma. After graduating from Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Edler has remained in Alva and also owns a business there.
(PHOTO BY JAMES PHIFER)

 

OKLAHOMA CITY – The word about the Oklahoma City ProRodeo is spreading.

The event is building a case for fans to enjoy the inaugural PRCA-sanctioned Oklahoma City ProRodeo presented by Tractor Supply Co. at the OG&E Coliseum, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23-Saturday, Jan. 24, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, at OKC Fair Park in Oklahoma City.

The evidence is the hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls that want to be part of the mix, so that just adds to the excitement in a state with a massive history. World champions have been crowned here, and world champions were born here, have lived here and have died here.

So, it’s no surprise that Oklahoma continues to be a rodeo hotbed and why 384 contestants have entered for a chance to compete in the state’s capital city next week.

“We were blown away from the response we got last year,” said Cord McCoy, who owns Lane, Oklahoma-based McCoy Rodeo with his wife, Sara. “I know a lot of people wanted to be part of the last PRCA rodeo at Jim Norick Arena, but to see that we have so many who want to be part of this one tells me we’re doing something right.”

McCoy Rodeo produces several events nationwide, from Illinois to Utah and Phoenix to New Orleans. Along the way, the company mixes world-class competition and family-friendly entertainment, the perfect breeding ground for rodeo.

But cowboys and cowgirls are in it for the money. The elite will travel tens of thousands of miles in a given year to battle for the big bucks. Many of them will be at OG&E Coliseum. In fact, there are a couple dozen National Finals Rodeo qualifiers who are expected to be in the competition, from world champions like Clay Tryan and Jacob Edler to men and women who have been to ProRodeo’s championship multiple times.

“The level of competitors and the level of stock we’ll have in Oklahoma City is going to be pretty incredible,” said Brandon McLagan, the voice of Oklahoma City ProRodeo. “It’s a week ahead of the Prairie Circuit Finals, so there are going to be guys and girls that are going to be getting tuned up to go to Pawhuska (Oklahoma) for that.

“On top of that, everybody wants to get their year started off on a good note, and three days in Oklahoma City – right in the middle of the country – is going to be outstandings.”

There are a lot of top players from the state in general. Edler lists State Center, Iowa, as his hometown, but he has lived in Alva, Oklahoma, for more than a decade. He was the runner-up to his national champion steer wrestler teammate, J.D. Struxness, at the 2016 College National Finals Rodeo. Edler then went on to advance to the 2020 NFR, where he won the aggregate title and the gold buckle.

In all, there are 147 entrants from the Sooner State ready for next week. That’s more than a third of the field, which also consists of Oklahoma greats like Paul David Tierney, who has won the Timed Event Championship three times; Emily Beisel, a seven-time NFR qualifier; Riley Duvall, who has made four NFRs; and Dona Kay Rule, a five-time finalist.

How big is rodeo in the state? Of the 118 qualifiers to the 2025 NFR this past December, 19 ties to the state, including nine who chose to be part of one of the college rodeo programs. Take the 2025 team roping world champions: Header Andrew Ward is from Edmond and has competed in this area all his life, and his partner, heeler Jake Long, was raised just north of the border in Coffeyville, Kansas, but was a Ranger at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

It’s ties like that that help maintain Oklahoma’s place in rodeo lore, sharing the spotlight with names like Jim Shoulders, Roy Duvall, Freckles Brown and the Etbauer brothers, South Dakota transplants that have lived most of their lives in the familiar red dirt.

“Shoot, I’m pretty stinkin’ proud of what we have here in Oklahoma, and that’s the reason why I wanted to have a rodeo in Oklahoma City,” McCoy said. “This is the state that built me, built my family, and this is just one of the ways I can give back.”