Barrel racers are getting to live their drag racing fantasy thanks to a stoplight start at the upcoming WCRA Rodeo Corpus Christi and Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo (KRRR), held May 7-10 and May 16, respectively.

That’s because both events will utilize the Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo Light System, a Christmas tree style light system similar to that used for drag racing, replacing the standard barrier system for timed events and giving barrel racers an even bigger change from their usual freewheeling, start when you—or your horse—wants to.

The unusual system is necessary for Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo event, which is a team competition held inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, because athletes from each team compete simultaneously, a test of the nerves of competitors and horses alike.

The Free Riders were the inaugural champs a year ago, a team comprised of World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) athletes who roped, rode and wrestled their way to onto the team via the 2024 Rodeo Corpus Christi.

This year’s edition of the annual rodeo that is part of the Buc Days Festival will pay $545,500 and once again provides the proving ground for the Free Riders with the top two athletes in all disciplines earning a spot on the team.

Due to its status as the qualifying event for Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo, Rodeo Corpus Christi will utilize the KRRR Light System this year, providing an added layer of excitement for fans and strategy for contestants, though competition will happen one cowboy/cowgirl at a time on the Corpus bayfront.

“It’s not new to rodeo, the Ultimate Calf Roping has used it in the past and others have dabbled with it,” KRRR Commissioner Luke Branquinho, a five-time PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler, noted of the unique start. “But it’s new in that it’s never been used to extreme level that it is with the Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo.”

How the rodeo stoplight start works

Here’s how it works: the Head Official starts the countdown once the arena is clear and ready, kicking off the Blue Light which lasts for 20 seconds. Essentially the “on your mark” portion, the Blue light is when contestants can start preparing for their run.

Lights are displayed around the arena and a unique series of sounds accompanies the light process to also help athletes prepare for the start.

Following Blue are Red 1 (10 seconds) and Red 2 (three seconds). Contestants should take these as the “get set” part of the countdown as things happen quickly at this point. Yellow comes after Red 2 and lasts just three seconds before Green signals the start of time.

“The cool thing for me is that when you hit that second red and it’s getting to yellow, you better be ready because it doesn’t matter where your horse is, what the steer is doing or anything else,” Branquinho said. “When green hits, you better be ready.”

“It brings the horsemanship back into rodeo because if you don’t have a horse that will stand there and be ready or you can’t manage him, you won’t get drafted to a team,” he added. “So, you’ve got to have a horse that can take that pressure.”

This is perhaps no more true than in the barrels, where horses are not used to starting from a stand still in the corner as roping or steer wrestling horses are.

Barrel racers are given the option of a running start from a designated staging area and the trick is to hit the electric eye (called the Line of Scrimmage) as close to the Green light as possible without coming early; being late costs precious time on the clock but crossing too soon results in penalties, including for any helpers on foot or on horseback.

Time starts with the green light and ends when the rider comes back across the Line of Scrimmage. Rodeo timers also keep backup stopwatches in case of malfunctions in the timing process.

First hand accounts from Castleberry, Hillman

Ashley Castleberry conquered the setup in 2024, posting the fastest time of the event with her 17.54 second effort during the opening round of the individual disciplines.

“It was a really neat setup, fun, but you gotta have the horse for it. You need a horse that can take it.”” Castleberry said. She was aboard Calfee Stormy Dash while riding for the Sledgehammers.

Castleberry made her plan during the morning-of-rodeo run-through when contestants got to take a practice run with the lights and sounds.

“I had them close the gate for me and open it so I could take off on the green,” Castleberry noted, which is allowed under the rules as all competitors are allowed helpers. “It was super tough.”

Competing for Team Convoy, Stevi Hillman took a different approach to making her strategy.

“Fun was my word,” she said. “I wanted to go into it with that mentality, just have a blast and go at it.”

Like Castleberry, she got a better feel during the run through but kept the mindset that this was a new experience to enjoy.

“We literally got a game plan of when to go at the practice the day of the event,” she noted. Hillman rode Brijett, a mare that suffered an injury last summer but who is now back in action and could get the call in Arlington again.

“If you miss the start, it’s definitely hard to make that up,” Hillman said. “But that’s the whole challenge of the concept.”

How to compete in Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo

Because five of the teams have been set through a draft held in December, rodeo athletes still hoping to participate for their chance at the nearly $1 million payoff at the 2025 KRRR have one option: win a spot at the WCRA Rodeo Corpus Christi qualifier.

The first step to being on the Free Riders is getting qualified: only the top 16 from the WCRA’s Rodeo Corpus Christi Leaderboard earn a position to compete. The cut-off for earning points through the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) toward the Leaderboard is April 6, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Go to wcrarodeo.com for complete details and to start nominating.

Once there, it’s simple: hit the famed Corpus Christi waterfront, conquer the KRRR Light System, and be one of the top two during the Kid Rock Rodeo Round on the final night. Grab a Free Riders jersey and help the team during their title defense on May 16 in Arlington.

Both Hillman and Castleberry will be back on their drafted teams, trying to win their own titles.

“It was something fun and definitely adds something different to rodeo,” Castleberry said.

“From my viewpoint, it was really cool, new and exciting,” Hillman said. “It was fun for the crowd and for the contestants. With the team concept, it was exciting even for us to watch.”