Oct 21, 2022
Behind the Scenes
Once again, Las Vegas is the place to be for fans of the Western lifestyle in early December.
Not only is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in town at the Thomas & Mack Center, but the YETI Junior World Finals returns to the Wrangler Rodeo Arena inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Las Vegas Events-run JWF features some of the top young cowboys and cowgirls in the country, as well as contestants from Canada, Mexico and Australia.Â
âThe Junior World Finals is an established event in that it now awards $1 million in cash and prizes,â said Junior World Finals Assistant General Manager Brilynn Bentley, who is responsible for LVEâs corporate marketing sponsorships. âAnd itâs recognized as the biggest and best rodeo for the youth in our industry.â
With 800 contestants scheduled to compete during the 10-day event â the roughstock events will be held Dec. 1-5, followed by the timed events Dec. 6-10 â sponsors have aligned with LVE to connect with those kids and their families.
âWe have some new and exciting sponsors, like Baja Vida Jerky and Tin Haul Boots, which kind of validates what weâre doing here in Vegas,â said LVE Corporate Marketing Specialist Stetson Stallworth. âWe have (sponsors) looking to get into the Western lifestyle who maybe donât know where to start but they have those core values of family and integrity and those things that align with our industry.â
Adding to that excitement has been the growing relationship between the Junior World Finals and the Wrangler NFR on a marketing level.
âOne would think that the natural progression would be you get into the Western industry by becoming a sponsor of the Junior World Finals and then you become a sponsor of the NFR,â Stallworth said. âWhile that is certainly happening, weâre also seeing the opposite. Folks over at the Thomas & Mack are now looking over at the Convention Center and wondering whatâs going on at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena and whatâs going on with those 850 contestants and that $1 million in payout.
âItâs been exciting to see how involved our NFR partners want to become on the Junior World Finals side,â he added. âThe beauty of our organization is that we arenât here to make money, weâre here to improve the NFR Experience for the contestants, for our corporate partners and of course for the fans.â Stallworth said this yearâs JWF has 23 corporate sponsors in addition to two partner hotels â Samâs Town and Tuscany Suites & Casino Las Vegas. Samâs Town is the official host property for the Junior World Finals timed events competitors and their families while the Tuscany is the official host property for the JWF roughstock events competitors and their families.
âThis event is now expanding across Las Vegas so much that we need two properties in order to house the contestants, horses and their families,â Bentley noted.
Both hotels will host back number ceremonies in partnership with Cavenderâs â Nov. 30 at the Tuscany for the roughstock competitors and Dec. 5 at Samâs Town for the timed event competitors â where contestants will receive their official JWF Resistol jacket and Hooey Contestant ball cap. Samâs Town also will serve as the official site for the Junior World Finals live viewing party. âThe official JWF satellite party will take place at a venue called Samâs Town Live,â Bentley said of the area that will seat about 1,000 people who can watch a live feed of that nightâs Wrangler NFR. âThis viewing party will actually be dedicated for the Junior World Finals contestants, but it is open to the public. Itâs more of a family friendly viewing party because our contestants canât go to all of the NFR viewing parties.
âOur goal behind this is creating a family friendly space for the Junior World Finals contestants and their families and friends,â she added. âWe want to give families a place to gather in a communal area as if they are at another rodeo.â
For rodeo fans and family members who canât make it to Vegas for the JWF, the Cowboy Channel is once again making the rodeo available for free to its Cowboy Channel Plus app subscribers. According to Bentley, last year around 11,000 people clicked on the app to check in on the rodeo each day. Once there, viewers spent nearly two hours on the app, meaning they not only watched a certain contestant but that contestantâs entire event. That type, and length, of engagement is what stands out to sponsors.Â
âThis has become appealing for sponsors because now they have the opportunity to get front of the fans no matter where they are,â Bentley said. âAnd thatâs where we continue to see growth not just in Vegas but across the industry.â
LVE now has the ability to provide sponsors with those additional stats in order to show digital value within partnerships.
âWe can tell them their commercial will be played once every hour,â Bentley said, âwhich means the odds are that within those 11,000 viewers daily youâre going to have a visible commercial minimum once a day in arena plus on the app because of the rollover.
âWith the growth of the event itself, within the contestants, within the industry, you also have the ability to provide those people and sponsors that are a part of the Junior World Finals with those stats they are then more willing to be involved. They can grow with us.â
The growth of the YETI Junior World Finals is apparent. From the number of hotel partners to the payout in cash and prizes to the value to sponsors, the JWF continues to be a leading light in the Western industry for youth rodeo. And Las Vegas Events expects the JWF to keep improving for all parties involved.