Rodeo Associations Worldwide, National and International
~Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) - All Indian Rodeo Cowboys Association (AIRCA) - Professional Bull Riders (PBR) - International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) - Cowboy’s Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) - National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) - Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA) - Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) - Rodeo Association of America - Cowboys Turtle Association - International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) - New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association (NZRCA)
Above are the Worldwide Rodeo Associations that will be covered across several posts in this section beginning with the 2 associations below:
The All Indian Rodeo Cowboys Association
(AIRCA) - Was formerly All Indian Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is a Native American organization which promotes Indian rodeo. It sponsors a schedule of local rodeos mostly in Arizona, the Indian Pro Rodeo Tour, leading up to a National Finals rodeo each year in which Native American rodeo performers compete. They cooperate closely with the Central Navajo Rodeo Association (CNRA) and the New Mexico Rodeo Association (NMRA). To compete in the Finals a performer must have competed in at least 30 rodeos during that year.
The Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR) is a competing national organization and event.
Cowboy’s Professional Rodeo Association
(CPRA) - The Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association was formed in 1992 by a handful of producers and contestants. The association held its first finals in Lufkin Texas and contributed $25,000 in added money to its first finals.
In 1993 , the association grew larger in membership, finishing out the year with 938 competing members from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mexico. Again the association added $25,000 to the finals held in Bay City, Texas along with many awards to the contestants and producers.
In 1994 , the association started the year with 530 members, the largest beginning membership in its history. the total membership exceeded 900 members. the producer list expanded, with the top stock producers in the state of Texas. the finals were held in Austin, Texas at the Travis County Exposition Center.
In 1995 , the association grew stronger and gained the title of “the Largest Rodeo Association in Texas” with over 60 rodeos this year. The finals returned to the Travis County Expo. Center in Austin, Texas.
In 1996 , the C.P.R.A. exceeded all membership records, with over 1,000 members and the highest paying rodeos in the state. the finals were held in Giddings, Texas at the Lee County Sheriff Posse Arena. 1996 proved to be a huge success, with record payoff’s to the contestants and record crowds in attendance at the finals.
In 1997, C.P.R.A. broke all records when the membership soared to 1,186. the finals returned to Giddings, Texas at the Lee County Sheriff Posse Arena. The association boosted the added money to $30,000 proving to be the largest year ever.
1998 was brilliant, the association again boosted the added money for the contestants to a whopping $36,000 and rewarded them with over 125,000 in awards and prize money. The finals were held at the Nacogdoches County Expo Center in Nacogdoches, Texas. After only seven short years in existence the C.P.R.A. has soared past all expectations. The 1998 finals were held at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas. the finals proved to be a great success with wonderful crowds, vendors and contestants, again the C.P.R.A. maintained the $36,000 added money and many wonderful awards for contestants and producers alike.
The millennium finals were held in Giddings, Texas at the Lee County Sheriff Posse Arena, and shattered the payout recorded with a whopping $50,000 added money for the top contestants. the finals hosted the top stock from six of the best stock producers in the state of Texas. This was a rodeo that could not be missed, what a way to start the new century!
Proving the C.P.R.A. entertains some of the toughest contestants anywhere, it now boasts that 26 of the National Finals Rodeo qualifiers of 1999 are current or past members of the C.P.R.A. who have worked their way to the highest ranks in the world.