Bull riding is still the most popular and draws the biggest crowds at PRCA rodeos. That is the reason the PBR was formed because of all the fans that wanted to see a lot more bull riding. The PRCA is like the minor league for bull riders and PBR is the major. Some PRCA riders also compete in the team PBR events. Stetson Wright was drafted by one of the teams for the PBR team event and did very well. He may never go all PBR because of his all-around cowboy skills. Being an all-around cowboy was always the goal sought by the ranchers in my family, that also did rodeo. Several of them achieved it and one was even world champion all-around cowboy 2 years running back in the 1920s. I think the reason many ride bulls, is it is the most difficult discipline in rodeo. It is a challenge that is very different than riding broncs.
I remember when BRO (Bull Riders Only) was big. There are fans that love seeing the "eliminator pen" of bulls and the cowboys that ride them. That is, if any of them can stay on for the full 8 seconds. It's a very tough way to make a living, but there are those that do just that. Tuff Hedeman and Jim Sharp were a couple of dudes that could ride an "eliminator" bull. But, as I tell many people, my "heeler" (Team Roping) and I had our horses already loaded up in the trailer and headed home by the time bull riding came on.
In the news: 14 year old boy, in King, North Carolina, dies after riding bull. His mom, a single mother, had to sign a Waver for him to be able to ride and, she thought, she had bought everything he needed for the ride. Don't know if that included a chest vest, like the pros wear, or not. Part of the article mention something about a cardiac arrest during the ride and another part mentioned cardiac arrest after he was bucked off and stepped on. The bull stepped on his chest. Bull riding is extremely dangerous. Just ask any professional bull rider.
In Timed-Events, a clock can pretty much decide your fate at a performance. IOW, the fastest time in one of the events will either make you the top winner or less. In Rough-Stock events, as in bull and bronc riding, a judge and/or 8 seconds decides your fate. If you make that 8 seconds, it's up to the Judges in what they score you. Either way, I don't think I'd want to depend on a clock and/or Judge to decide how I will pay my bills.
At least a few of the bull riders we transported to the hospital from the rodeos I covered as a paramedic were younger than sixteen, and at least one was fourteen. These were PRCA rodeos so I would assume they were professionals.
Not all participants at a PRCA-sanctioned rodeo are PRCA members if the rodeo is open. If for only PRCA members then only those with valid permits can participate. A participant must be 18 or the age of majority in the state of their citizenship.
@Ken Anderson Also if a rodeo is PRCA sanctioned but open, they separate the days so the non-pros compete against each other for prizes on a different day than the PRCA pros where only PRCA permit holders can participate and earn points and prizes that might get them in the finals. They do this because the pro day always draws a bigger crowd and many rodeo fans don't care to watch the amateurs. There aren't many open rodeos left that also offer a PRCA day. A few small towns have them, but I think that time is fading as monies made from the large crowds dictate they have their big yearly rodeo all pro and for PRCA participants only. They have other rodeos throughout the season for amateurs or those working to be pros. but those are seldom advertised and not well attended. You don't have the same quality of rough stock as in the pro's rodeos.
@Faye Fox, it's been a couple of decades so I don't know for sure, but I don't remember separate pro and amateur rodeos, except for the ones involving very young children, but these involved riding sheep, not bulls. As I recall, there were just the rodeo and the rodeo events. I know that, in the same competitions, there were young and older participants.
Things have changed since those days. When our local rodeo went PRCA it was open for a few years and the pros were on the same night as the amateurs. They had so many complaints and when they tried adding extra days earlier in the week for amateurs, those were poorly attended and stock contractors wouldn't bring their best stock early, so they forced all locals that did maybe three rodeos a year, to get their PRCA cards to participate. One of these guys was so good he started following the circuit and a few years ago was inducted into the PRCA Hall of Fame. For me, the PRCA took the community out of the rodeo as far as participants and it lost the appeal it once had for me. We still have a few ranch rodeos where the constants from the working ranches are as good as any of the pros, especially in roping.
They did also have ranch rodeos in the Rio Grande Valley, but they weren't required to have an ambulance on-site so we only went to them when there was someone to be treated or transported. You're right, there didn't seem to be anyone there other than participants, a few family members, and probably a few people who lived nearby.
Please remember, Faye, I was a member of PRCA, and when I was, only PRCA members were allowed at a PRCA sanctioned rodeo. There are PRCA rodeos that allow Permit Holders, but the big ones, with big payouts, like Denver, Ft. Worth, CFD, Houston and San Antonio do not. You do know that a person becomes a full member (Card Holder), once they fill their Permit, right? Perhaps the rules have changed today, I don't know. I don't think PRCA has "open" rodeos.