Wrangler Rodeo Arena, one of the six main interactive features of The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas, will host more than 800 youth contestants in the YETI Junior World Finals vying for championships in nine events. The YETI Junior World Finals will run concurrently with The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo?, Dec. 7 – 16.
Free to the public, The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas will be open daily from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center in both South and Central Halls. For the first time, the Wrangler Rodeo Arena will be located in Central Hall, within the footprint of Junior World Finals Rodeo & More.
Wrangler Rodeo Arena, which boasts a seating capacity of more than 1,200, will host a variety of events and competitions. The YETI Junior World Finals will feature contestants 19-years-old and younger competing in many of the events the pros take part in at the Thomas & Mack Center, including bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, girls and boys breakaway, team roping, tie-down roping, pole bending and barrel racing.
The roughstock events will run from Dec. 7-10, with the Finals for these events set for Monday, Dec. 11. The timed events will then run from Dec. 12-15, culminating with the Finals on Saturday, Dec. 16.
For more information on the YETI Junior World Finals and a full schedule, click here or through social media at /LasVegasNFR and use #WranglerNFR.
Daily admission is $10. For $40, attendees can purchase a five-day pass for the dates of Dec. 7-11 or Dec. 12-16. Access to the Priefert Platform will be $20 per day for each of the ten days of competition. Admission is based on seating availability.
In addition to Wrangler Rodeo Arena, The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas will include the following main anchor displays and programming elements:
Ariat Rodeo Live Stage (South Hall, Level 2) – The daily programming kicks off each day with Live with Lucia with host Anthony Lucia starting at 10:30 a.m. Cowboy Conservation with host Shane Minor and Flint Rasmussen in Outside the Barrel continue at 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively. The RMEF Calcutta caps the day starting at 1:30 p.m.
Ranch Water Rodeo Saloon (South Hall, Level 2) – Every great “rodeo” needs a saloon. Located near the Ariat Rodeo Live Stage, the Ranch Water Rodeo Saloon features specialty drinks.
NFR After Dark presented by Community Coffee (South Hall, Level 2) – This customized area features Cloud Touch units promoting all aspects of the NFR Experience and how fans can engage at the 28 sponsor hotels.
Returning for the second year will be Cowboy Christmas Village sponsored by Clint Orms (South Hall, Level 2). This festive area will include Christmas trees, daily appearances by Santa Claus from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and an area for kids to write a letter to Santa and drop it in a special mailbox. In addition, there will be photo walls to share your experience with family and friends.
Bites and Brews (South Hall, Level 2 and Central Hall) – A series of custom food and beverage carts will be located in both halls for attendees to enjoy a variety of vendors to satisfy any appetite.
The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas is one of the daily highlights when the Wrangler NFR is in town. Sold out for more than 350 consecutive performances in Las Vegas, the Wrangler NFR attracts the top 15 contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding. Under the contract with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association that runs through 2025, the purse in 2023 is more than $11.5 million. Qualification is based on the 2023 PRCA World Standings.
For more information on The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas and the Wrangler NFR, please visit NFRexperience.com or through social media at @LasVegasNFR and use #WranglerNFR. For the latest ProRodeo news and Wrangler NFR coverage, please visit prorodeo.com or through social media @PRCA_ProRodeo.
Wrangler NFR to Host Contestant Autograph Sessions
Rodeo fans will be able to get up close and personal with their favorite Wrangler National Finals Rodeo contestants at a series of autograph sessions beginning on Friday, Dec. 8. All sessions, which feature the contestants representing the seven rodeo events, begin at 11 a.m. and last until 1 p.m. and are free and open to rodeo fans.
Now entering its 38th year in Las Vegas, the Wrangler NFR kicks off on Dec. 7 and runs for ten consecutive days. The event features the Top 15 PRCA contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping and bull riding, plus barrel racing (WPRA).
The autograph session schedule is as follows:
Friday, Dec. 8 – Barrel Racers at Golden Nugget (The Grand Foyer)
Saturday, Dec. 9 – Tie-Down Ropers at MGM Grand (Main Lobby)
Monday, Dec. 11 – Team Ropers at Horseshoe (Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Sports Kitchen)
Tuesday, Dec. 12 – Steer Wrestlers at The D (Bar Canada)
Wednesday, Dec. 13 – Bull Riders at Treasure Island (Gilley’s Saloon)
Thursday, Dec. 14 – Bareback Riders at New York-New York (Beerhaus)
Friday, Dec. 15 – Saddle Bronc Riders at Resorts World (Wrangler Dawg House)
Known as the richest and most prestigious rodeo in the world, the Wrangler NFR attracts the top 120 contestants in the world to compete for a share of the $11.5 million purse and the coveted PRCA Gold Buckle. In 2022, the event had a total attendance of 173,350 over the 10 days of competition at the Thomas & Mack Center and has sold out more than 350 consecutive performances in Las Vegas.
For more information on the Wrangler NFR, please visit NFRexperience.com or through social media at @LasVegasNFR and use #WranglerNFR. For the latest ProRodeo news and Wrangler NFR coverage, please visit prorodeo.com or through social media @PRCA_ProRodeo.
NFR Mobile App: Available with New Features
The National Finals Rodeo Championship is coming up soon. With that being said, the fan experience has been updated and it is exciting. Now NFR is mobile! There is an NFR app available now. It is a free app that gives you interactive maps, social media engagement, event schedules, video highlights, and a Spotify part too.
How exciting that the NFR has a new app that is ready for all fans of the NFR. Fans can fully plan what their experience will be like from this app. There are many new features, and everyone will love them. Some of the new features include:
- Schedule: This provides a complete list of performance times, Wrangler NFR 9-5, NFR after dark, Cowboy Christmas activities, What’s Hot and fans can also directly add events to the app and smartphone calendar.
- Tickets: Do you need tickets to the rodeo and have no idea how to get them? This will help you to get the best seats for the best price. You will also be able to manage your digital tickets and you will have full access to StubHub to find them. Keep in mind that StubHub is the official ticketing agent for the NFR.
- Beyond the Dirt: If you weren’t fortunate enough to get the tickets that you wanted, this is a great way to digitally watch the NFR Championships. You can watch it from anywhere you get Wi-Fi.
- Junior World Finals: There are ten days of junior world finals and you will get all access to it on the mobile app. You won’t miss anything when you have this special NFR app!
- Cowboy Christmas: If you are looking for some early Christmas gifts, this is another great place for you! The app has a full gift shop that you can buy for your favorite cowboys and cowgirls! There is Wrangler NFR merchandise and you will find different interactive areas on the app.
- Sponsor & Partners: This is the part of the app that connects you to all of the different sponsors and partners of the NFR. You can even learn how you could become a donor and sponsor to the NFR.
The new NFR mobile app is available on all mobile phone platforms. It is incredibly easy to use and if you want to follow everything that goes on with the NFR, this app is one for you!
The NFR has become one of the most popular sports today and with this app, you won’t miss a thing. You won’t miss the new rankings, how to get tickets, and where you can catch the NFR. You will find out the top 15 contestants in all the different events. Bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, and bull riding are all included on this app. You won’t miss anything! For true fans, this is the app that you need to use and you’ll never need another one!
Watch NFR Live Stream on Roku
December is almost near for the NFR 2023 event as the dates are confirmed. The majority of you might already prepare their trip to Las Vegas for the 10 days of December. On the other hand, most of you might not get the opportunity to go there in person.
A few other alternatives are also available for the fans who can watch it on their home TV Screens. If you are a local of the US, then you are going to watch it easily on The Cowboy Channel, which is the Official broadcaster of National Finals Rodeo every year.
Few of the international fans watch the rodeo event by getting a premium subscription on Prorodeotv.com. However, the wrangler network is also introduced four years back for the rodeo enthusiast to watch it for free on their official website.
The charm and enthusiasm of this game have fascinated a lot of new people to love and engage with it. At the same time, many of the online media player’s manufacturers and companies connected with this game to provide you the amazing experience watching it on CBS network.
Roku devices are also in the list of those online media player manufacturers who are providing their users to watch the CBS sports network through DirecTV channel 221 or DISH channel 158 where the NFR 2023 Championship stream live.
If you are a Roku device user, you can also get the benefit of this device through the steps that you need to follow to install and use the CBS All Access App on your Roku Device.
- First of all, download the app from the official Roku channel store, it’s free.
- Open their app on your device.
- Go to the settings, by clicking on the top right option of the screen.
- After you go to the settings, it will show you two different options to sign in. One is manual and the other is through Code.
- If you are interested to sign in manually, just enter your login ID details, and press the enter button.
- If you are interested to sign in with a code, then open the www.cbs.com/activate/roku/ on your desired browser.
- The code you received on your app has to be inserted to the web browser page and press the enter button.
That’s the simple step for you to watch NFR 2023 live on your Roku device. Moreover, the free version will not allow you to watch it in offline mode. So, for that, you can upgrade it for one month by spending $5.99 and $9.99 for limited commercials and commercial-free.
It can be affordable for all of the people to upgrade their app on your Roku device and enjoy throughout the month by watching the NFR 2023 all matches with countless repetitions.
Moreover, the subscription will also allow you to watch the NFR 2023 events on more than one Screens.
Last Words:
The final words would be that visiting the match by existing to the physical location is unmatchable with other experiences. However, you can also watch it from your home on HQ modes to enjoy the same essence at your home too.
Roku devices are flexible to fulfill your dream, and all you need is to install the CBS ALL Access from your Roku channel store and watch the NFR 2023 live all events in your home.
Veteran Koontz Chasing Maiden World Championship
The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo event in the United States. The NFR welcomes the top 15 money list winners during the current season of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeos to compete for the privilege of calling themselves world champions.
The NFR is hosted annually during the first full week of December at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The event is aired live on CBS Sports. To signify how special this event is, the dirt that gets used at the rodeo is a ‘special dirt’ and the dirt is stored on the UNLV campus until the NFR the following year.
The NFR is the final rodeo event on the PRCA schedule and world championship titles go to the overall money winners throughout the year, but not necessarily to the winners of the NRF.
There are 8 different events that cowboys and cowgirls can compete in at the NFR namely:
- Bareback riding
- Steer wrestling
- Team roping
- Saddle bronc riding
- Tie-down roping
- Steer roping
- Bull riding
- Barrel racing.
Bull riding is arguably the most well-known event out of the line-up, but when the NFR rolls into town all of these events will be jam-packed with action from the best in the rodeo industry.
The NFR was held for the first time in 1959 and it has been an annual feature at the Thomas & Mack Center arena since 1984. Last year 170 966 fans attended the NFR over the course of the 10 days that the event runs for, tickets for 2018 are already sold out and it is an event not to be missed.
Competition at the NFR is very tough and only the best of the best will showcase their talent at the NFR. One of the surprise competitors is 47-year-old team roper Kory Koontz. Koontz and his partner Egusquiza secured their berth to the NFR before the last regular season event of the season. At one of the final rodeos of the season at the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo Koontz and his partner cruised to victory laying down the marker for their competitors at the NFR. Koontz never imagined himself still doing this at the age of 47, 40 was always the cut off line that he established for himself. Koontz has a 23-year-old partner and spending time with a young cowboy has definitely helped Koontz to regain his sense of youth.
Koontz can’t say enough about his partner, Egusquiza, Koontz admits that his experience along with Egusquiza’s youth and enthusiasm makes them a pair that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Koontz might be a veteran at the NFR, this will be the 22nd trip that he has earned to the NFR, but he is still just as competitive and eager to win as he was when he competed at his first NFR.
Koontz hasn’t won a world title and a win at the NFR along with a world title will be the cherry on top of an excellent rodeo career for Koontz.
Koontz has done the math and he realizes the importance of the NRF. Historically the team that wins the most at the NFR is the team that ends up being crowned world champions.
Can Koontz cap of a marvelous career with a world title? This question will remain unanswered until December, but one thing is for sure, Koontz has paid his dues, he has a good partner and he is ready to win that elusive world title that he has been yearning for the past 22 years.