PWR Championship and Road to the PWR Championship Exemptions on the Line at The Next Gambler Event in Austin, TX on June 27, 2026.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Premier Women’s Rodeo (PWR) is proud to announce a new partnership with the Austin Gamblers that will create additional opportunities for women bull riding athletes and further elevate one of rodeo’s fastest-growing disciplines.
The partnership will officially launch on Saturday, June 27 in Austin, TX at the third annual “The Next Gambler”competition, the Austin Gamblers’ annual scouting event. The Gamblers, league champions in 2024, will host the OptiWize Women’s Bull Riding Challenge, an all-women competition spotlighting elite female talent in the sport.
The event marks the first time women riders have been included in a PBR Teams scouting event.
As part of the collaboration, PWR will award the event champion with valuable opportunities designed to accelerate her path to the sport’s biggest stages, including:
- An automatic exemption into the 2027 PWR Championship, scheduled for May 13–16, 2027
- An automatic exemption into the Road to the PWR Championship, taking place December 17–20, 2026, and airing nationally on ION and Grit through Scripps Sports
The partnership reflects a shared commitment between PWR and the Austin Gamblers to grow women’s bull riding and provide meaningful opportunities for female athletes to compete, gain exposure, and advance their careers.
“This partnership is a natural fit because both organizations believe in investing in the future of women’s rodeo,” said Linsay Rosser Sumpter, Commissioner of Premier Women’s Rodeo. “We’re excited to work alongside the Austin Gamblers to create new opportunities for women bull riders, provide greater visibility for these talented athletes, and help build pathways that lead to some of the most prestigious events in our sport.”
The female winner of the OptiWize Women’s Bull Riding Challenge, at The Next Gambler will earn a direct route into both the Road to the PWR Championship and the 2027 PWR Championship, joining an elite field of athletes competing for some of the largest opportunities in women’s rodeo.
PWR and the Austin Gamblers share a vision of growing the sport through strategic collaborations, athlete development, and increased visibility and opportunity for women to compete at the highest level of professional bull riding.
Fans can follow Premier Women’s Rodeo and the Austin Gamblers on social media for event coverage, athlete features, and winner announcements following Saturday’s competition.
About PWR (Premier Women’s Rodeo)
PWR is a new women’s rodeo brand owned and operated by PBR – the global leader in bull riding and part of TKO – built to become the premier business and competitive platform in women’s rodeo. A rebirth of the Women’s Rodeo Championships, which launched the Women’s Rodeo World Championship in 2020, PWR brings proven momentum, having paid nearly $4.5 million to women athletes, delivered the highest-rated rodeo telecast in history on CBS, and produced the richest women’s rodeo event in the world with $1.25 million in payouts in 2025. PWR is the only all-women, multi-discipline championship featuring Breakaway Roping, Barrel Racing, Team Roping, and Goat Tying, with equal payouts across disciplines and a tiered Pro, Challenger, and Limited classification system that creates true competitive parity and accessibility for athletes ages 13 and up. Through year-round qualification via the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier, championship competition in iconic venues like AT&T Stadium alongside the PBR World Finals, and national broadcast exposure, PWR removes traditional barriers while leveraging PBR’s unmatched marketing, media, and storytelling power to build star athletes and elevate women’s rodeo to a mainstream sports audience.
ABOUT AUSTIN GAMBLERS:
2024 PBR Teams Champions, the Austin Gamblers are based in Austin, Texas, where the team’s fifth annual Gambler Days homestand will take place at the state-of-the-art Moody Center on August 21-23, 2026, bringing three days of world-class professional bull riding to the heart of downtown Austin. The team is coached by PBR legend and world champion Michael Gaffney. Under the leadership of JJ Gottsch as CEO, the Austin Gamblers are owned by Egon and Abby Durban. Both originally from Texas, Egon is Co-CEO of Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, and serves on the board of directors of Dell Technologies, whose founder, Michael Dell, is also a minority investor in the Gamblers.
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