Rodeos

Faye is absolutely right in her post above mine (#525). PRCA isn't (necessarily) what it used to be, but there are those that are still joining, filling their Permits and becoming full members. Full members (card holders) not only can get paid from the purse of a rodeo, but from advertisements they are in. American Hat Company paid Jackie Crawford and her husband for advertising their hats all thru the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on the Cowboy Channel.

 

1936 A few cowboys walked out of the Madison Garden Rodeo to protest WT Johnson, rodeo promoter, refusing to add the cowboy's entry fees to the final purse. They formed what was later to become the PRCA. This was the forming of a UNION to represent cowboys so promoters shared in a fair way.

1975 After a few name changes, this cowboy union became the PRCA Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association with new rules and guidelines. To qualify for prizes and benefits, a rodeo had to be sanctioned. In those days many of the small-town rodeos weren't sanctioned. One of our local rodeos wasn't although a few PRCA hall of fame inductees got their start here. They pushed hard to get small-town rodeos to go PRCA so it would draw the cowboys following the PRCA circuit to perform since it could add to their PRCA standing.

1980-1990 Many of these small-town rodeos became sanctioned by the PRCA. Non-PRCA participants were still allowed to participate in certain sanctioned events and any age restriction was set by the local rodeo.

I am not sure when all this changed, but I know after 2000 that the PRCA went through a lot of changes that included sanctioned rodeos not allowing anyone to participate in PRCA events unless they had a permit or a card. Events that were not covered by PRCA could be held but not under the umbrella as PRCA sanctioned. Several old-time rodeos like the Pendleton Roundup (started 1910) still have events like wild cow milking and Indian relay races but they are on a different day.

The PRCA has evolved in recent years from just the standard events of Bronc Riding (both bareback and saddle), Bull riding, Steer wrestling, Roping (team, tie-down, break away, and steer), Barrel racing, and All Around Cowboy.

Women under the PRCA umbrella have their own union WPRA so they can control the events of barrel racing and breakaway roping. Men cannot participate in these events under the PRCA umbrella. WPRA has an all-around cowgirl award, but that differs from the all-around cowboy award which requires being the highest-money winner in two or more men-dominated events.

The PRCA tried once to start its own barrel racing event that would exclude the WPRA. They lost that lawsuit and ponied up $6.875 million for that hostile stunt meant to dominate and control the women of rodeo.

1992 the PBR Professional Bull Riders was founded 1992 because of the PRCA's domination of the sport and refusal to give bull riding the spotlight it deserved.

Seeing the success of the PBR, in 2003 the PRCA started its own premier event, Xtrereme Bulls which is sometimes held separately from the other PRCA rodeo events and has a final event with just bull riding.

2016 the PRCA started another separate event, Xtreme Brocs because of the crowd it drew. It also has its own finals.

In 2019 due to demand by old steer ropers, another separate event was started, Legacy Steer roping for those over age 50. It also has it's own final rodeo as a single event.

Another premiere solo event was formed; National Circuit Finals Steer Roping. NCFSR.

The PRCA is all about big money these days and creating a monopoly it controls completely. It is no different than any other professional sport and certainly doesn't represent the values of old-time rodeo. It is sort of like WalMart coming in and destroying the small local family-owned stores. Just like Walmart, it offers some benefits that appeal to a majority of folks so it prospers.

After one of our local rodeos went PRCA, it drew in big Western Stores putting the three family-owned ones we had out of business. Many of the small cafes disappeared and many chain restaurants came in. It changed the entire area. When they moved the rodeo grounds to a much larger area to accommodate the crowd that came in for 3 days, my rodeo experience changed.

Once living on the last street in town where there was nothing but miles of rangeland filled with cattle and several hayfields, the rodeo folks always parked all around my place since the grounds were a couple of blocks over and all parking there was taken by the early birds. I gave permission to several, now PRCA Hall of Fame inductees, to park in the large space used as an alley behind my house. I got to know several of them. One, in particular, had a sister that still lives down the street, but her parking area was always full of her own rigs so he parked behind my place. I was amazed at their horse trailers that are air-conditioned and have sleeping quarters for humans, including a toilet, shower, and small cooking area. Some of the rigs cost a couple of million. Of course, there were always the poor rodeo folks that had rigs valued at a mere $250,000.

The days of an old pickup with a camper towing a horse trailer that was valued as scrap are gone forever.

 

And, we remember when ERA (Elite Rodeo Association) was started and televised on CBS Sports Network. But, PRCA/WPRA stepped in and stated that any PRCA/WPRA member that participated in ERA, would not be allowed to do PRCA rodeos. So, ERA came to an end. PRCA cowboys, Trevor Brazile and Bobby Motes, put ERA together.

IOW, don't try and fight PRCA, because they are the largest professional rodeo association in the world.

 

The actions against the ERA were un-American in my opinion. Then following the dropping of the lawsuit, in 2016, the PRCA further expanded its monopoly by passing rules that PRCA members with other pro rodeo memberships, would be kicked out of the PRCA and stripped of winning and titles.

The ERA was a member-supported non-profit union and that upset the PRCA big shots. Very sad to me that an organization that started to help its members back in 1936, has turned into a monopoly controlling every aspect of pro rodeo, except the PBR. Greed at its worst, pure and simple.

I think pro rodeos would be more interesting if the PRCA allowed its members to participate in other pro rodeos and offered more incentives instead of destroying other organizations. That is the American way. I hate monopolies.

 

We love PRCA and always will. Of course, I'm a major fan now, not a contestant anymore. My wife is also a major fan. Walmart would love to knockout any competitor to them and, so or later, just may do that. Big companies and organizations are always going to control the market.

And, from what we can see, the Top 15, or so, love the PRCA............or, they have to. Either way, PRCA isn't going anywhere at anytime.

 

Just read, on Facebook, a rant that a top-notch Champion Breakaway Roper wrote about contestants and them trashing up contestant parking lots. She was complaining because rodeo committees give contestants so much, as in free meals and other things and "this is the way we repay the rodeo committees?"

She done a heck of a rant and I just hope other contestants will see what she is talking about and use trash cans for their trash. Then again, I've been in both contestant and public parking lots where all of the trash bins/cans were full, to overflowing. When that happens, it's the rodeo committees responsibility to get them emptied.

The lady ranting is Jackie Crawford. Her and her husband have picked up others trash and put into trash cans.

 

A link to an incident at the recent San Antonio rodeo:

 

Don, we know what happened and why it happened, BUT, everything turned out ok. The audience even applauded at the end of the incident when the Clydesdale got up and walked away.

 

I saw that yesterday; it was really scary there for a few minutes. I was worried about whether the horse would get up.

 

Maybe these latest posts should be moved to the rodeo thread and not here on the debate one. Why the lead horses calmly turned back is really strange. Their turning-in was also unusual. Sometimes team lead horses will turn out toward the arena, but why in toward the arena panels or fence, is baffling.

Of course, PETA says it is because Budweiser docks their tails and they lack balance which is why they fell, but that doesn't explain why they turned in. It has been speculated that the wagon master wasn't reining back enough, but still, that doesn't explain the turning in toward the barrier trying to squeeze in between the other horses. They fell because their harnesses got tangled.

 

Amazing how the dalmatian just sat on the beer wagon. Those are all very well trained animals.

 

Yes, the dalmatians know where the beer is and were keeping an eye on it.

I missed the nipping by the second pair. I can't imagine where they thought they were going, turning in. All is well that ends well. It is interesting that PETA has folks watching rodeos looking for anything they can raise trouble about.