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The College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), sanctioned by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), is held every June. Since 1999, the CNFR has been held at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming. Both men and women rodeo athletes compete for the honor of becoming national champions in their events. Colleges also compete as teams for the chance of winning the men's and women's national college rodeo championship.
There was no CNFR in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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, Steer roping, 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.
The Australian Professional Rodeo Association (APRA) is the national governing body for professional rodeo in Australia. Founded in 1944, APRA has been setting the standards for rodeo in Australia for over 60 years. The Australian Rodeo consists of many events some of which are junior and ladies' (open) barrel racing, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, bareback bronc riding, rope and tie, steer wrestling, team roping and the steer ride. Men, women and children are involved in the Australian rodeo circuit.
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.
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, present and future." It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and only inducts Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women's Professional Rodeo Association members. It is the "only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the sport of professional rodeo."
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 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 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 six-time World Champion saddle bronc rider, and a one-time World Champion all-around cowboy. 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.
La Federación Mexicana de Rodeo (FMR) or the Mexican Rodeo Federation is the governing body of professional American rodeo in Mexico. It is based in Chihuahua, Chihuahua.
The Heart of the North Rodeo is located in Spooner, Wisconsin, United States. The rodeo takes place the first full weekend in July every year since 1954, except 2020. It is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Fans from all over come to watch the professional cowboys and cowgirls compete in the seven main events of rodeo, and even some up-and-coming little cowboys and cowgirls.
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 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.
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 November.