The NFR Open is an annual championship rodeo event of the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National ...

(PRCA) held annually in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The event was previously known as the National Circuit Finals Rodeo (NCFR) from 1987 to 2021, before being renamed as the NFR Open in 2022. Qualification for the event comes via winning the season title or winning the average title at the regional circuit finals rodeos in bareback riding,

steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it falls ...

team roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer (typically a Corriente) and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around ...

saddle bronc riding Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or ''bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally b ...

tie-down roping Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismoun ...

barrel racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur and ...

breakaway roping Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. It is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted rider. The calves are moved one at a time through narrow runs leading to a chute with spring ...

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

. To qualify, a competitor must compete in one of the 12 PRCA regional American circuits (Montana, Mountain States, Wilderness, Columbia River, California, Turquoise, Texas, Prairie, Badlands, Great Lakes, Southeast, and First Frontier) and Canada's Maple Leaf Circuit. From 1987 to 2010, the NCFR was held every spring in Pocatello, Idaho. Then from 2011 to 2013, the event took place in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. The event moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma in 2014. In 2015, the NCFR moved to

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

. In 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the NCFR was rescheduled and moved to a different location. It was ultimately held September 10 through 13 at the Stampede Arena in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, Weld County, Colorado, ...

. The event was closed to the public. In 2021, the NCFR returned to Kissimmee, Florida and was held during its normal run in the springtime, but consisted of a limited and socially distanced crowd due to the ongoing pandemic. In 2022, the National Circuit Finals Rodeo was renamed as the NFR Open and now takes place every July at the

Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo The Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo is a rodeo that takes place in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States every July. It was sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) for many years. However, from 2014 to 2017, it was unsancti ...

in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Competitors go through two longer performances to compete for eight spots for the semi-finals. The semis and the finals are in sudden death format. The top four times and scores will advance to the one go-round final. Whoever has the top score or time in the finals is crowned the PRCA National Circuit Champion for the year. In 2008, the

ProRodeo Hall of Fame 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, pr ...

in Colorado Springs, Colorado, inducted the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in the Rodeo Committees category.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:NFR Open Rodeos ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees