San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo: Preview, Format, and How to Watch

With almost $1.5 million up for grabs in San Antonio, rodeo’s top competitors are primed and ready for the second leg of the Texas Swing.

Last year, the San Antonio Champions made between $22,000 and $27,000 and seven of them went on to make the NFR.

FORMAT

In San Antonio, they too are a tournament style format with five brackets made up of three Go-Rounds each making up the first 15 of a total of 19 performances. The Top 4 money earners in each bracket advance to a Semifinal Round.

From the Semifinals, the Top 5 in each will advance to the Final Round while the remaining contestants advance to a Wildcard Round for one last shot at the Finals, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Your San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Champion crowned will be the cowboy or cowgirl with the most money earned after the Final Round, which itself pays $15,000 to the winner.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Bracket 1 (Feb. 8-10)

The rodeo kicks off with some of bareback riding’s rising stars like Kade Sonnier and Jacob Lees. Lees’ advanced to the Finals in 2023, he is looking to have a repeat trip.

In team roping, cousins Marcus Theriot and Cole Curry cinched a National Finals Rodeo qualification last year after a successful season that included a payday in the Final Round of San Antonio. They are up against the likes of Clint Summers and Jake Long as well as Coy Rahlmann and Billie Jack Saebens.

Bracket 2 (Feb. 10-11)

National Finals bulldoggers Tristan Martin and Cody Devers are looking to pick up steam when their bracket kicks off.

Meanwhile, reigning PRCA Saddle Bronc Riding World Champion Zeke Thurston has yet to win a San Antonio title, but he has won just about everything else in his career and 2024 could be his year.

Bracket 3 (Feb. 12-14)

The ladies in Bracket 3’s barrel racing consist of household name Lisa Lockhart and standouts like Paige Jones and Kelly Allen. Jones and Allen will be hustling for the kind of redemption that lands them in the Final Round.

In the bull riding, you can look forward to seeing Josh Frost, Trey Benton III and Chance Schott. Frost and Benton went all the way to the Finals in San Antone in 2023.

Bracket 4 (Feb. 16-17)

The likes of Cole Reiner, Leighton Berry and Rocker Steiner will make the bareback riding in Bracket 4 electric and 15-time NFR qualifier Will Lowe is looking for his second San Antonio title, his first came in 2007.

It is also a stacked roster of breakaway ropers with multiple arena record holders and NFR qualifiers like Danielle Lowman, Rickie Fanning and Sawyer Gilbert. However, their success in San Antonio has been limited in years past.

Bracket 5 (Feb. 19-21)

The reigning San Antonio Tie-Down Roping Champion Riley Pruitt is back for seconds and it all starts for him in Bracket 5. It is a loaded field of competition with newly crowned Fort Worth Champion Shad Mayfield in the running along with Taylor Santos and John Douch.

The barrel racing will bring you some of the fastest ladies in the world including Wenda Johnson, Hailey Kinsel and Jordon Briggs to name a few.

How to watch & broadcast schedule:

You can watch every performance LIVE on The Cowboy Channel and The Cowboy Channel+ App. For a full broadcast schedule click HERE.