PRCA – The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Photo courtesy of Kim Mattina
Legend has it that rodeo was born on July 4, 1869 when two groups of cowboys from neighboring ranches met in Deer Trail, CO, to settle an argument over who was the best at performing everyday ranching tasks. That competition is considered to be the first rodeo which evolved into rodeo as we know it today.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) was created almost by accident in 1936 when a group of cowboys walked out of a rodeo at the Boston Gardens to protest the actions of rodeo promoter W.T. Johnson, who refused to add the cowboys’ entry fees to the rodeo’s total purse.
Today, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the largest and oldest rodeo-sanctioning body in the world. The recognized leader in professional rodeo, the PRCA is committed to maintaining the highest standards in the industry. The PRCA sanctions more than 600 rodeos annually in 38 states, in addition to four Canadian provinces, and ensures that every PRCA-sanctioned event is managed with fairness and competence and that the livestock used is healthy and cared for to the highest standards.
To see a complete list of PRCA Rodeo events, click here.
WPRA – The Women’s Professional Rodeo Association
Photo courtesy of Katie Moore
The Association is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado and boasts of over two thousand members. In 2008 the WPRA celebrated sixty years of women in rodeo and are looking forward to the next sixty as the future of women in the sport of rodeo has never looked better. Today, the fast paced event of barrel racing dominates the activities of most WPRA members. WPRA barrel racers compete for millions of dollars each year. In addition to the traditional events, the WPRA has formed new programs to promote growth in the industry. Beginning in 2007, the WPRA now crowns a WPRA Junior World Champion Barrel Racer through its WPRA Juniors program for ladies under the age of eighteen. The WPRA also crowns world champions in the futurity and derby programs, designed for young horses in their first years of competition.
