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Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
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Calgary Stampede rodeo champions have won their respective events in one of the largest rodeos in the world; the rodeo is the heart of the Calgary Stampede. [1] It is held at GMC Stadium. [2] With a prize of $50,000 to the winner of each major discipline, it offers one of the richest payouts in rodeo competition. [3] In the United States, the Calgary Stampede rodeo is televised live on The Cowboy Channel and live-streamed on the subscription-based Cowboy Channel+ app. In Canada, the rodeo is televised live on The Cowboy Channel's Canadian counterpart, The Cowboy Channel Canada.
Contents
- Past champions
- Tie-down roping
- Bareback riding
- Steer wrestling
- Saddle bronc riding
- Barrel racing
- Bull riding
- Breakaway roping
- Team roping
- References
There are six major professional events – bull riding, ladies' barrel racing, steer wrestling, tie down roping, saddle bronc riding and bareback riding – and four novice events – junior steer riding, novice bareback, novice saddle bronc and wild pony racing. [4] Each professional event is organized as its own tournament, and the cowboys and cowgirls are divided into three pools with 10 contestants per event. The first pool competes the first three days, the second pool competes the next three days, then the third pool competes the following three days. The top four in each pool (four fastest combined times in tie-down roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing, and four highest combined scores in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding) advance to the last day's semifinal round. The top four in each event then advance to the final round, where all previous results are wiped clean. The contestant with the fastest time or highest score in each event wins the trophy bronze and accompanying $50,000. Team roping was added in 2022. However, unlike the other rodeo events, it was limited to one day and the competition was called the Rocky Mountain Cup. It took place at the Nutrien Western Event Centre and there were 30 teams at the event who competed in the first two rounds. The eight fastest teams then returned for the semifinal round, and the top four then advanced to the clean-slate final round where the fastest team won the trophy bronze and $12,500 per member. Ladies' breakaway roping was added to the Rocky Mountain Cup in 2023. Just like in team roping, 30 ropers competed in the first two rounds, followed by the eight fastest ropers in the semifinal round, then the top four competed in the clean-slate final round where the fastest breakaway roper won the trophy bronze and $12,500. In 2025, breakaway roping will be added as part of the other six rodeo events at the Calgary Stampede rodeo at GMC Stadium. The Rocky Mountain Cup will continue as a team-roping event at the Nutrien Western Event Centre, but will now be its own three-day separate event and take place one month after the completion of the Calgary Stampede.
All livestock for the rodeo events come from the 22,000-acre (89 km2) Stampede Ranch located near the town of Hanna. [5] The ranch was created in 1961 as a means of improving the quality of bucking horses and bulls and to guarantee supply. [6] The first of its kind in North America, [5] the Stampede Ranch operates a breeding program that produces some of the top rodeo stock in the world and supplies rodeos throughout southern Alberta, and as far south as Las Vegas, Nevada, for the National Finals Rodeo. [7]