Pro Rodeo's Main Event

After years in the saddle, any of the 7,500 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) competitors who contend for prize money and a shot at a world-champion title can tell you, it’s a wild ride to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR).

Their names—Howdy Cloud, Blue Stone, Buster Record and Rope Myers—sound like a roll call from the silver screen era of smoking six-shooters and singing cowboys. And while they may not fill movie theaters with a ruthless pursuit of law and order, these Hollywood-sounding cowhands are showing up more and more on television, upholding one of the West’s most venerable traditions: the sport of rodeo.

After years in the saddle, any of the 7,500 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) competitors who contend for prize money and a shot at a world-champion title can tell you, it’s a wild ride to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR).

"What I’d hoped would happen 30 to 35 years ago is finally becoming a possibility now," says Shawn Davis, 64, production manager for the PRCA’s three nationwide tours, plus the prestigious National Finals, the sport’s equivalent of baseball’s World Series. "We have nearly 700 sanctioned rodeos annually in 41 states and four Canadian provinces. There’s a beginning and an end and a tremendous excitement level. Now we have a way of following a leader and knowing who’s going on to compete at the NFR."

For rodeo athletes, the National Finals is the sport’s crown jewel. Culminating each December at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, the NFR pits the year’s top 15 money earners in seven events: bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, tie-down roping, team roping, and the sport’s glamour event: bull riding. Vying for a share of the season’s largest total purse—$5 million—is the incentive. The year’s world champions also are crowned at the event.

But it wasn’t always Vegas glitter and big bucks for rodeo cowboys. The sport’s origins took root, the PRCA claims, as far back as 1864, when hands from two neighboring ranches met in Deer Trail, Colo., to settle the matter of who was best at everyday ranching chores.

Riding and roping competitions evolved over the years. In 1959, the first National Finals Rodeo was held in Dallas, followed by stints in Los Angeles (1962-64) and Oklahoma City (1965-1984) before the championship event was moved to Las Vegas in 1985.

Davis, a three-time world saddle bronc riding champion (1965, 1967-68), who still coaches rodeo at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, says the sport has changed considerably from the time when he was competing.

"When I was growing up, it was more like the original Wild West," recalls Davis, "when the cowboys would come into town, go to the rodeo, and then party and have a great time until the next one down the road a week. Their lifestyle has changed, too. More of them are family-oriented, and the younger guys work out like athletes and plan their careers. The participants before and through my era were more there for a good time and not as serious about their future."

Man with a plan

Two-time defending PRCA world all-around champion Trevor Brazile is a man with a plan. Having won his first world all-around title in 2002, Brazile mapped out a goal to repeat in 2003, carefully selecting which rodeos to enter and working to improve his performance in the three roping events he concentrates on.

"What I’ve learned most," says Brazile, 28, from Decatur, Texas, "is if you set your goals to make the finals, you might make the finals. But if you set your goals to win the world, you’re definitely going to make the finals."

That a rodeo cowboy’s life is tough is a given. The rigors of travel as well as tension of competition make for wear and tear on all competitors. Jim Shoulders, one of the sport’s living legends from the 1940s and ’50s, recalls the early days of rodeoing and the incessant demands of touring.

"You got a lot of freight tied up in yourself—a whole lot of miles—if you rodeoed," says Shoulders, 76, a 16-time world champion from Henryetta, Okla. "These guys talk about staying in condition and lifting weights. I’ve had people ask me how I stayed in shape. I say, ‘Learn to get a good night’s sleep in about 30 minutes.’ That’s what you had to do, because you spent so much time on the road getting to the rodeos."

But as the saying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same. With respect to rodeo, Shoulders replies: "The rules basically are the same: You ride with one hand, and whoever rides the best bronc or the best bull and makes the best ride gets the money."

Not that there haven’t been significant changes since Shoulders’ era. The seven-time world bull riding champion is crystal clear about the sport’s biggest transformation.

"Starts with an ‘m’ and ends with a ‘y’," he says. "They call it money. I always said that if (legendary saddle bronc rider) Casey Tibbs was riding today, he’d be getting the money. But some of them making a living rodeoing back then couldn’t get on their high school rodeo team today."

In the first of his five world all-around champion years, 1949, Shoulders took home $21,495. By comparison, 2003 all-around titlist Brazile earned $294,839, thanks in part to corporate sponsorships from beer, boot and blue jean manufacturers.

Still, incomes of full-time rodeo athletes haven’t kept pace with those of professional baseball, football and basketball players, whose annual earnings have rocketed into the multi-millions.

Pay to play

One peculiarity of rodeo, unlike other professional sports, is the requirement that contestants pay entry fees to participate in each event—after they’ve fueled their trucks and hauled their horses to a distant county fairground.

"It’s absurd," says Joe Beaver, 39, an eight-time world champion from Huntsville, Texas. "We’re making tons of money for towns and rodeos, and we’re getting just a very, very small share of it back. The expense to make the money is unbelievable."

Yet, despite its flaws, pro rodeo is making large strides, thanks to that most persuasive of media.

"We’re getting a lot of benefit out of television," says Davis, referring to the PRCA’s contracts with the ESPN and OLN networks.

"If it’s not on TV, it don’t work," Shoulders adds. "I think it’s a product worth selling and worth looking at."

As for what the future holds for pro rodeo, Davis says, "If they’ll continue with the present (PRCA) commissioner’s plan and organize it so it can be developed as a sport with a following, there’s an excitement level coupled with the heritage of the West that is very hard to duplicate."

Brazile applauds the direction the PRCA is taking, bringing the top cowboys in front of a TV audience on a consistent basis: "I think that’s improving our fan base."

This week, rodeo fans will once again turn their attention to Las Vegas and the much-awaited National Finals Rodeo. Among rodeo’s superstars taking center stage will be Brazile, who will attempt to repeat as world all-around champion for the third consecutive year.

"The mental part is so hard," he says. "You’ve got so many outside factors that can drain you. But you have to keep going, no matter what. Our season doesn’t wait on circumstances and for everything to be lined up perfect."

Rodeo’s No. 1 cowboy pauses before offering a final thought. "It doesn’t matter what you’ve done at the previous rodeos," he says. "You’ve got to start new every time."

The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is scheduled Dec. 3-12. For more information, log on to www.prorodeo.com.

 

Alan Ross is a freelance writer from Bisbee, Ariz.

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