Rodeo is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. Originally based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico. Today, it is a sporting event that involves horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls. American-style professional rodeos generally comprise the following events: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding and barrel racing. The events are divided into two basic categories: the rough stock events and the timed events. Depending on sanctioning organization and region, other events such as breakaway roping, goat tying, and pole bending may also be a part of some rodeos. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the "world's first public cowboy contest" was held on July 4, 1883 in Pecos, Texas, between cattle driver Trav Windham and roper Morg Livingston.
Indian rodeo is the rodeo subculture of Native American rodeo athletes and, in Canada, First Nations athletes. In the United States there are a number of regional associations and at least two national finals. In Canada, Indian rodeos share a major role in small aboriginal communities and are also featured events in larger centres with aboriginal populations. Some major rodeos in British Columbia such as the Williams Lake Stampede are, while not aboriginally-organized and unlike some Indian rodeos open to non-natives, heavily "Indian" in character and in the ranks of competitors. The Indian rodeo is sponsored by a few well known companies including the Boot Barn, Cooper Tires and Yeti.
The Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) is one of the largest rodeo sanctioning bodies in the world and is open exclusively to women eighteen years of age and older. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Association currently has over 3,000 members from all over the contiguous United States, Canada, and Australia.
Tom R. Ferguson is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World All-Around Cowboy Champion for six consecutive years from 1974 to 1979 breaking the previous mark of five consecutive titles held by Larry Mahan. He was also the 1974 World Tie-Down Roping Champion and the World Steer Wrestling Champion in 1977 and 1978. In 1999, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo competition by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). The PRCA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.
Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of the largest of its kind in the world, draws nearly 200,000 annually. Lodging fills up quickly during the peak tourist season throughout southern and eastern Wyoming, into northern Colorado and western Nebraska. The celebration is held during the ten days centered about the last full week of July. In 2008, Cheyenne Frontier Days was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
The International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), founded in 1985, is the sanctioning body for gay rodeos held throughout the United States and Canada. They are the largest group coordinating rodeo events specifically welcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) as well as heterosexual participants and spectators. IGRA is composed of many regional gay rodeo associations, and sanctions a season of rodeo events which culminates in an annual World Gay Rodeo Finals. IGRA events are intended to allow all competitors, regardless of sexual and gender identity, to compete in rodeo sports without discrimination. The organization helps spread appreciation for Western culture and the sport of rodeo, while serving as a fundraising vehicle benefiting many charitable organizations.
The Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) is the national championship professional rodeo in Canada, held in Red Deer, Alberta, and previously in Edmonton. The CFR takes place in early November and is the final event of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) season. It offers one of the richest purses in Canadian rodeo, usually worth over C$1,000,000.
History of tracks the lineage of modern Western rodeo.
The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships.
William E. Linderman was an American rodeo cowboy who competed on the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) circuit in the 1940s and 1950s. During his career, he won RCA All-Around Cowboy titles in 1950 and 1953, along with an unofficial All-Around Cowboy championship in 1945; in addition, he earned season championships in rodeo disciplines four times. Linderman was the first cowboy with three RCA world championships in a year, a feat he accomplished in 1950. A native of Montana, he joined the RCA in the early 1940s, winning his first discipline world championship in 1943 before beating out his brother for the 1945 unofficial All-Around Cowboy title. After injuries and health issues ended his 1946 and 1947 seasons, Linderman added two more All-Around Cowboy championships in the next six years.
Everett Bowman was an American rodeo cowboy who competed from the 1920s to 1940s. During his career, he won the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) All-Around Cowboy championship in 1935 and 1937 and was second three times; he also won eight titles in individual disciplines. Bowman was involved in organizing cowboys, founding the first group for pro rodeo competitors, the Cowboys' Turtle Association (CTA), now known as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). From 1936 to 1945, he served as president of the organization. Bowman was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.
Charmayne James is an American former professional rodeo cowgirl who specialized in barrel racing. In her career, She won 11 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championships, the most in history. She won ten consecutive world championships from 1984 to 1993, and then a final one in 2002. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) 19 times and also won seven NFR barrel racing average titles in 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, and 2002. James retired her horse, Gills Bay Boy, nicknamed Scamper, whom she won the bulk of her titles with, in 1993 after winning her tenth world championship. James herself would retire from barrel racing in 2002 after winning her 11th world championship.
The International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) is the second-largest American rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions rodeos in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the International Finals Rodeo (IFR), held every January. The IPRA is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Guy Allen is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy and an 18-time Steer Roping World Champion. He competes in rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He won the world title for the steer roping event 18 times when competing at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) and also won the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) Average title five times. He had won the title 11 times in a row when Buster Record broke his streak. Allen is also inducted into nine rodeo halls of fame.
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) is the governing body of professional rodeo in Canada. Its championship event is the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) held every November.
Mary Walker, is a world champion barrel racer. She won the World Barrel Racing Championship in 2012. Despite several traumatic events in the two preceding years, she persevered. She also became the oldest woman, at 53, in rodeo to win a world championship in the barrel racing event at the National Finals Rodeo. She was later surpassed by Mary Burger in 2016 when Burger won at age 68. She lost her only child to a car accident in 2011. Two months later, Latte, her horse, fell on her during competition and severely injured her. It was about a year and a half after these incidents that she won her world title. Walker was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2013.
Wanda Harper Bush was an American barrel racer who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1978 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2017. The August 2017 induction ceremony was ProRodeo's 38th annual event, and marked the first time in the event's history that the class of inductees included barrel racers from the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). Bush competed in the Girl's Rodeo Association (GRA), now known as the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) and won two World Barrel Racing Championships, in 1952 and 1953.
The Indian National Rodeo Finals Hall of Fame is a hall of fame in Browning, Montana, dedicated to the sport of rodeo. The Indian National Finals Rodeo is dedicated to preserving and promoting the sport of Indian rodeo through as many channels as are available to it.
