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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 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.
The National Finals Rodeo (NFR), organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), is the premier championship rodeo event in the United States. The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in each event as they compete for the world title.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, 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.
Ty Monroe Murray, is an American nine-time World Champion professional rodeo cowboy. He was one of the top rodeo contestants in the world from the late 1980s to early 2000s. He is an inductee of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the all-around category. He is one of the co-founders and a board adviser of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), and a color commentator on events for the PBR's elite tour, the Unleash the Beast Series (UTB).
Larry Mahan is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He won six World All-Around Championships and two Bull Riding World Championships in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1979 in the all-around category. It also inducted him as a Legend of ProRodeo in 2010.
Lewis Feild was an American professional rodeo cowboy. He specialized in bareback bronc riding and saddle bronc riding and competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. He was the World All-Around Cowboy Champion from 1985 to 1987 at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). He was also the World Bareback Riding Champion from 1985 to 1986. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1992 in the all-around category.
Billy Etbauer is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in saddle bronc riding. He competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit along with his two brothers, Robert and Dan. He won the PRCA saddle bronc riding world championship five times.
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.
Monty Henson, sometimes known as Hawkeye Henson, is a three-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world champion saddle bronc rider.
Daniel Earl Mortensen is an American six-time World Saddle Bronc Champion, and a one-time World All-Around Cowboy Champion. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) where he won those championships at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 2009.
Shane Proctor is an American professional rodeo cowboy. He is the 2011 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world champion bull rider.
Cole Elshere is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in saddle bronc riding. He qualified for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 National Finals Rodeo.
Zeke Thurston is a Canadian professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in saddle bronc riding. He is the 2016 and 2019 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Saddle Bronc Riding World Champion.
Skeeter Thurston is an American-Canadian former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in saddle bronc riding.
Kaycee Feild is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bareback bronc riding and competes in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He is a son of PRCA World Champion all-around cowboy Lewis Feild. He has won six bareback riding world championships, the most of any PRCA bareback riders. He won them from 2011 to 2014, and again from 2020 to 2021. He is the first cowboy to win three consecutive bareback riding average titles at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR).
The Elite Rodeo Athletes, also known as the Elite Rodeo Association (ERA), was a professional rodeo organization founded in 2015. Its only competitive season was in 2016, and 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). Lyne was the RCA Rookie of the Year in 1969. Two seasons later at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), in 1971, he won the World All-Around Cowboy Championship and the World Tie-down Roping Championship. At the NFR in 1972, he repeated as the World All-Around Cowboy champion and added a second World Tie-down Roping Championship. Lyne won his first and only World Steer Roping Championship at the NFR in 1990. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.
James William Harris, known as J.W. Harris is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), Championship Bull Riding (CBR), and elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuits. He won the PRCA Bull Riding World Championship four times at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Harris is the first bull rider since Don Gay to win four PRCA world bull riding titles. He is also the first since Gay to win three of them consecutively. Harris is also the 2014 PBR Rookie of the Year.
Mary Burger is a world barrel racing champion. She won the World Barrel Racing Championship in 2006 and 2016. Burger was 68 years old when she won the championship in 2016, setting a new record for oldest rodeo champion in any rodeo event, male or female. The record stands for the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) or the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) She broke the existing record set by Ike Rude of 59 years old in steer roping set back in 1953. She also broke the record set by Mary Walker in 2012 at 53 years old in the WPRA. Also In 2016, she became the third WPRA barrel racer to wear the No. 1 back number at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). She set a new record for season earnings, and she set a new record by becoming the oldest WPRA qualifier to the NFR at 68 years. Her horses, Mo and Fred, whom she used to win her titles with, she trained in barrel racing herself. In 2017, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
Hailey Kinsel, also formerly known by her married name Hailey Kinsel Lockwood, is a three-time World Barrel Racing Champion. Kinsel won the title in 2018,2019, and 2020 at the National Finals Rodeo. She has also won the NFR Average title once in 2020. Kinsel and her horses have qualified for the NFR four times in her years in professional rodeo, in 2017 2018, 2019 and 2020. Kinsel 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.
References
- ↑ Kantowskilas, Ron (December 12, 2016). "Jacobs Crawley letting it wail at National Finals Rodeo". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ↑ Todd Dewey (December 7, 2015). "Math favors Crawley in NFR saddle bronc test". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ↑ "CPRA Past Champions". Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ↑ Fowlerafowler, Annie (June 8, 2016). "Jacobs Crawley riding his way to the top 8 seconds at a time". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Thurston wins world; Proctor, Pruitt capture average titles at NFR | Rodeo". trib.com. June 7, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
- 1 2 "Cowboy Biographies". Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ↑ Whisler, John (February 10, 2016). "Rodeo career a smooth ride so far for Boerne cowboy - San Antonio Express-News". Expressnews.com. Retrieved December 11, 2016.