VRQ Qualifiers to MDB

The sight of Kelsie Domer raising a check worth $60,000 high over her head live on FOX Sports on November 30, 2024 as the first average champ at the Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway Roping (MDB) sent shockwaves across the industry.

Domer collected $95,000 in three days and, incredibly, was only the fourth high money winner behind Hali Williams, Danielle Lowman and 17-year old phenom Reese Jacobs.

Williams earned $115,000 for ten go rounds of work, Lowman $105,000, and Jacobs $97,500.

With a total payoff of $1 million, the event paid out life changing checks to the sport’s best ropers.

But not everyone was able to be at Westworld Arena in Scottsdale, Arizona for the gold rush.

2024 Women’s Rodeo World Championships (WRWC) Breakaway Champion Amy Ohrt was one who missed the inaugural event.

“I couldn’t go last year because of conflicts with my college rodeos,” Ohrt noted. Ohrt was the World Champions Rodeo Alliance’s (WCRA) high money winner in 2024, banking $82,680 at the WRWC, Rodeo Corpus Christi and WCRA’s Division Youth events. “I’m definitely going to try for it this year.”

Now, Ohrt and every other breakaway roper in the world will have another road to follow as they attempt to qualify for the richest breakaway roping in the world thanks to the Kimes VRQ Leaderboard.

Rodeo Logistics launched the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) in 2018. It’s an on-line platform that allows competitors to register and nominate any event with publicly verifiable results, earning points towards event leaderboards that provide the opening into major WCRA and open events including San Diego Rodeo and now, the Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway Roping to be held November 26-30, 2025.

Following the close of the nomination period on November 2, the top 20 ropers from the Kimes VRQ Leaderboard will be seeded into the Semi-Finals, joining ropers who earned their spot through live event qualifiers in Arizona and Oklahoma.

Announced April 2 — the day the nomination period opened — the news was welcomed by the ropers themselves, including Ohrt.

“I think it’s great,” the Wharton County Junior College Rodeo team member said. “Now, kids in college who can’t make it to one of the qualifiers have a shot to go. Being able to nominate and earn points on the leaderboard and qualify that way is awesome.”

Ropers don’t have to be balancing college rodeo team responsibilities to embrace the new path to the MDB.

Three-time Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier Josie Conner appreciates the freedom that the Kimes VRQ Leaderboard path gives her as a full-time rodeo competitor who is on the road most of the year.

“I think it’s a great opportunity, especially for those with very full and busy schedules,” Conner said. “Having the chance to nominate at places we are going to anyway without having to figure out how to make one of the qualifiers and still get to go compete at the best breakaway event there is awesome.”

2024 Kimes Ranch MDB Champ Domer is on board, too.

Kelsie Domer, 2024 Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway Roping Champion. Photo courtesy of CN Productions

“It’s great to have another way to get qualified,” the 2024 WPRA World Champion Breakaway Roper said.

“Everybody rodeos and jackpots differently,” Domer pointed out. “If you just like going to your weekly jackpot, it’s easy to nominate that and boom, you’re earning points. You don’t have to change what you’re doing to have a chance, you can just stick to what you’re used to doing.”

“I think it’s awesome to have another option.”

For the folks behind the Kimes Ranch MDB, the goal was to expand the reach of the event.

“I’m excited about this major new path,” said Chris Neal, CEO of CN Productions who manages the production of the event, noting the chance to erase geographic limitations.

“Some girls don’t live six to eight hours from one of our qualifiers,” he said. “Maybe they live in Ohio, or Canada, or wherever, way off in different spots. This is a way for them to nominate and get qualified wherever they are competing.”

“Then, maybe they’ll come all the way to Scottsdale knowing they’ve got a spot into the Semi-Finals where they may not have been willing to make that long drive to try to get in through the Last Chance Qualifier.”

“And there is no added entry fee if you qualify from the Kimes VRQ Leaderboard,” Neal explained. “That’s a big benefit to doing it this way.”

Lindsay Perraton, Chief Marketing Officer at Kimes Ranch Jeans, also believes the VRQ route will push athletes from new areas to Scottsdale.

“For our 2025 event, we’ve created three live qualifier events—but the VRQ adds a powerful, accessible way for more breakaway ropers to compete for their chance at $1 million,” Perraton said. “Its virtual format removes geographic limitations and expands opportunity for athletes nationwide.”

Neal notes that Kimes Ranch Jeans, CN Productions and Rodeo Logistics are working together to achieve mutual goals for the industry.

“This is a strong industry collaboration that will elevate women’s rodeo and athlete access to major opportunities.”

And, make no mistake, those opportunities still include lucrative payouts at the live qualifying events. Twenty-three-time WPRA World Champ Jackie Crawford won nearly $5,000 at the First Chance Qualifier in Scottsdale back in November.

“Our Oklahoma’s Richest pays so good,” Neal said of the second qualifier. “We had 430 girls last year. Rounds paid $8,000 and it paid $12,000 to win the average. We paid out $150,000 and even the top ten [who get an automatic invite to the Semi-Finals] came and roped just because the payoff was so good.”

The Oklahoma’s Richest event is held in October at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie and the Last Chance Qualifier is held the day prior to the Kimes Ranch MDB in Scottsdale in November.

With the added Kimes VRQ Leaderboard athletes added in, the Semi-Finals is growing in size.

“We’ll be taking more ropers to the semi-finals this year, up to 166 from 141 last year,” Neal said.

No breakaway ropers want to be watching live on FOX Sports in 2025 but in the Westworld Arena, rope in hand. Connor, who won $85,000 at the inaugural event, can’t wait to get back this year.

“They really knocked it out of the park; it was awesome,” she said. “I’m very glad it’s not going to just be a one time thing.”

Information on the Kimes Ranch MDB can be found at milliondollarbreakaway.com. For complete details, rules and registration for the VRQ, visit app.wcrarodeo.com.

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