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. It was 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. 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.
Rodeos have long been a popular competitor and spectator sport in Australia, but were not run on an organised basis until the 1880s.
The National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA), based in Denver, Colorado, was incorporated in 1961 to promote interest in rodeo sports among high school students, to provide training, and to establish venues for their performances.
The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), based in Walla Walla, Washington, was established in 1949. It sanctions more than 100 college rodeos every year in the United States, and represents over 3,500 student athletes attending more than 135 member colleges and universities. As well as regional rodeos, the NIRA sanctions the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) every June.
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.
Ranger College is a public community college in Ranger, Texas. The college's website asserts that it "is one of the oldest public two-year colleges in continuous operation in the state of Texas." In conjunction with its main campus in Ranger, the college maintains several satellite campuses across Erath County and Brown County, Texas. Ranger College provides dual-credit courses to over 40 area school districts.
The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It 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, Canada, and Mexico, 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.
History of rodeo 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.
Daniel Earl Mortensen is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in saddle bronc riding. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and won seven world championships; six in saddle bronc riding and one all-around.
Jacobs Crawley is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in saddle bronc riding. He won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) saddle bronc riding world championship in 2015.
The Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) was a professional rodeo organization founded in 2015. Its only season was in 2016, and it ceased operations the following year.
Phil Lyne is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who competed in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA)/Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the RCA Rookie of the Year in 1969. Two seasons later at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), in 1971, he won the all-around cowboy world championship and the tie-down roping world championship. At the NFR in 1972, he repeated as the all-around world champion cowboy and added a second tie-down roping world championship. Lyne won his first and only steer roping world championship at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) in 1990.
Gene Rambo was an American rodeo cowboy who competed in International Rodeo Association (IRA) events in the 1940s and 1950s. Rambo won the IRA's all-around cowboy season championship four times between 1946 and 1950. He took part in numerous disciplines, including saddle bronc riding, steer roping, steer wrestling, and tie-down roping. Rambo was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1989.
The National Little Britches Rodeo (NLBRA) is one of the oldest youth based rodeo organizations. It was founded in 1952, and sanctions rodeos in over 33 states. NLBRA allows children ages 5 to 18 to compete in a variety of different rodeo events. It’s championship event is the National Little Britches Finals Rodeo. The NLBRA headquarters is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. The NLBRA was founded in Littleton, Colorado. The Finals were held in Pueblo, Colorado, but moved to the Lazy E in Oklahoma in 2016.
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 autumn.
Hailey Kinsel, is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing and competes in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). She won the WPRA barrel-racing world championship in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022 at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). She has also won the NFR Average title once in 2020. Kinsel and her horses have qualified for the NFR six times in her years in professional rodeo; in 2017 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. She has been competing in rodeo since adolescence, winning awards through high school and college in both barrel racing and breakaway roping, as well as professional rodeo. Her horse, Sister, won the Barrel Racing Horse of the Year Award in 2018.
Sage Steele Kimzey is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding. For most of his career, he competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), winning seven bull riding world championships. He also competed in the now-defunct Championship Bull Riding (CBR) organization, where he won three world championships. Since 2023, he has ridden for the Carolina Cowboys during the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Team Series season. As of 2024, he competes full-time in the PBR.
