Rodeo 4: 1945 to the Present
A lot of cowboys were unhappy with the Turtle name so, in February of 1945, the organization was renamed the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA). That year, the organization also hired its first full-time business manager and established its own system of determining champions in individual events.
At that point, three different organizations were crowning "world champions": The RCA, the RAA, and the National Rodeo Association (NRA). The NRA had originated as the Southwest Rodeo Association, founded in 1938 by a group of cowboys who competed only on weekends, in smaller rodeos. In 1946, the RAA and NRA merged to become the International Rodeo Association (IRA).
Then there were two and those two talked, on and off, for a number of years about the possibility of merging their championships. Finally, the IRA announced in 1955 that it would stop using the word "champion" but would still give trophies and prize money to its points leader.
The following year, though, the IRA began to concentrate on managing rodeos, leaving the RCA as the major sanctioning organization for professional rodeo. And its champions were now the only champions.
The RCA's point system was pretty simple. Every dollar won on the professional circuit counted a point, so the championship was really just based on money won.
In 1959, the association began holding the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) to determine its champions. The top 15 money-winners in each event were invited to compete. Money won at the NFR was added to the amount during the regular season to determine the final standings. From 1976 through 1978, the champion was the cowboy who won the most money at the NFR, without regard to regular-season winnings, but the original system was resumed in 1979.
In the meantime, the RCA had changed its name, becoming the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), in 1975. That year, the association also established its circuit system for competitors who can't travel around the country on the professional rodeo tour. Under the system, the country is divided into 12 regions, each with its own circuit of weekend rodeos. The top cowboys in each circuit compete in that circuit's finals. Winners and top point-getters from the regular season go on to the National Circuit Finals Rodeo.
The PRCA moved to its present location, Colorado Springs, in 1979. Its headquarters now also includes the Museum of the American Cowboy and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
The PRCA now sanctions about 700 rodes with total prize money of more than $35 million. The season is made up of the Winter Series, from January to mid-May, and the Summer Series, from late June to late September. The 10-day NFR, held in November, offers $5 million in prizes.
The top 12 money winners in each event are invited. After preliminary rounds, the top eight advance to the semifinals and from there the top four go to the finals.
There are approximately 7,000 cowboy members in the PRCA, but only about 1,000 of them actually make a living at the sport. Most of the others compete on one of the 12 regional circuits.
While the PRCA is by far rodeo's most important governing body, it's not alone. Among the other sanctioning organizations are the American Pro Rodeo Association, the International Professional Rodeo Association, the National Professional Rodeo Association, the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association, and the United Rodeo Association.
There are also some organizations for younger would-be cowboys and cowgirls. National Little Britches Rodeo conducts competition, including national championships, for children ages 5 through 18. The National High School Rodeo Association, which has nearly 13,000 members in 39 states and five Canadian provinces, awards more than $200,000 in college scholarships to top high school rodeo performers. Competition begins at the state and province level, with the top four contestants in each event moving on to the National High School Finals Rodeo in July.
At the next level is the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), founded in 1949. There were 12 founding member colleges. That number reached a high of 155 in the 1980s, but has since declined to 137. The NIRA conducts more than 100 rodeos a year, culminating in the College National Finals Rodeo, which is held about mid-June.