The Western Web

Rodeo is a traditional North American sport with influences from the history of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and American cowboys. Rodeo originated as an extension of the day-to-day lives of early American cowboys; branding cattle and riding and training young bucking horses made a natural progression to competition between the cowboys. Bragging rights about who could stay on a “broncy” horse went from passing the hat for the winner, to today’s large purses at competitions such as the National Finals Rodeo.

Rodeo events include the rough stock events bull riding, bareback bronc riding and saddle bronc riding. The timed events include steer wrestling, team roping, calf roping, the rarely seen steer tripping, and women’s barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat tying and pole bending. The participants include cowboys, cowgirls and also rodeo clowns sometimes known as bull fighters.

The oldest and largest sanctioning body of professional rodeo is the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) which sanctions around 700 rodeos annually. The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) is a recent organization dedicated to Bull Riding and puts on a number of events. There are also high school rodeos, amateur rodeos, and rodeos for women. Some colleges, such as the University of Montana have a rodeo team. The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association is responsible for the College National Rodeo Finals. Also available is the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA). This organization offers internationally competitive rodeo to high school students.

There are numerous rodeos held throughout the United States and Canada. Among the more prominent are the Calgary Stampede; Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming; the National Western Stock Show in Denver; the NILE Rodeo in Billings, Montana; Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston, Texas; and the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The NFR is held each December at the Thomas & Mack Center and features the top 15 competitors (in terms of earnings) from each of the events. In 2003, it is estimated that attendance at the 10 days of the National Finals Rodeo will top more than 170,000 with another 12 million people watching the rodeo on television.

Upcoming discussions in this rodeo series include:

Rodeo organizations:
Australian Professional Rodeo Association
All Indian Rodeo Cowboys Association
Cowboy’s Professional Rodeo Association
Cowboys Turtle Association
International Gay Rodeo Association
International Professional Rodeo Association
National High School Rodeo Association
National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA)
New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association (NZRCA)
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Professional Bull Riders
Rodeo Association of America
Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA)
Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA)

As well as these topics:
Accidents Involving Humans
Accidents Involving Animals
Controversy
Criticism of rodeos
Notable rodeos worldwide
Equipment

Including the seven PRCA events:
Bareback riding
Steer wrestling (bull dogging)
Team roping (From 1995 on, the PRCA has awarded separate titles to “headers” (cowboys who rope the steer’s head) and “heelers” (cowboys who rope the steer’s hind feet).
Saddle bronc riding
Tie-down roping
Steer roping
Bull riding
Barrel racing

Rodeos around the world:

Arizona
Worlds Oldest Rodeo in Prescott
Fiesta de los Vaqueros (The Tucson Rodeo)

Colorado
National Western Stock Show in Denver

Florida
Silver Spurs Rodeo in Kissimmee

Missouri
American Royal

Montana
NILE Rodeo
Chase Hawks Memorial Rough Stock Rodeo

Nevada
The National Finals Rodeo

Texas
Women’s Finals Rodeo in Fort Worth
San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Mesquite Championship Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

Wyoming
Cheyenne Frontier Days

Canadian Rodeos:
Calgary Stampede
2006 Ontario Extreme Tour Rodeo
Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton
Raymond Stampede in Raymond, Alberta being Canada’s first and oldest rodeo, started in 1902
Festival Western de St-Tite in St-Tite, Quebec

São Paulo Brazil
Festa do Peão de Boiadeiro

And finally, a biography of Lane Frost and a discussion of the movie “8 Seconds”, a biopic film about the life and death of this American rodeo legend and world bull riding champion.

We hope you enjoy the new rodeo series, please check back often!