Women's Professional Rodeo Association
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The Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) is one of the largest
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
sanctioning bodies in the world and is open exclusively to women eighteen years of age and older. Headquartered in
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, the Association currently has over 3,000 members from all over the contiguous
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 territorie ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. In 2004, WPRA members competed for nearly $5 million in total prize money at rodeos in the United States and co-sanctioned
Canadian Professional Rodeo Association The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) is the governing body of professional rodeo in Canada. Its championship event is the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) held every November. History The Canadian Professional Rodeo Organization was f ...
(CPRA) events in Canada.


History

Formed as the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA) in 1948, several of the original members were female ranchers who had been forced to take over family operations as husbands, fathers, and brothers were called to service in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Though women had played an important role in rodeo's formative years in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, competing and winning against their male counterparts, by the time of the GRA's formation women's role in rodeo had been reduced to beauty pageants, with prizes (instead of prize money) such as cigarette cases. These women were exceptionally competent riders and ropers, whose skills had been honed working the open ranges of the American west, and they found it demeaning to be pushed to the extreme edges of rodeo. On February 28, 1948, determined to stake their own special place in rodeo, 38 women met in
San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
, to form the GRA, with the primary purpose of advancing the position of women in rodeo everywhere. They drafted rules and created a point system for determining year-end champions. Then they went to work, persuading rodeo committees and producers to hold women's contests according to GRA rules. Committees were given the option of choosing which event they would hold, and most picked barrel racing. In its inaugural year, the GRA had 74 members and held 60 events. In its first year, it paid out $29,000 to contestants. In the beginning, the women were performers in the events of calf roping, bronc riding, and barrel riding. The events and membership grew, and in 1981, the name of the Association was officially changed from the GRA to the WPRA. Their next major goal was to promote equality between the women's barrel race and the other events held at PRCA rodeos by demanding prize money equal to the other men's events. They achieved their goals in 1985, becoming the first professional women's sports organizations to have fiscal equality with their male counterparts. The WPRA is now the "oldest women's sports association in the country and the only one governed entirely by women".


Current events and structure

The WPRA's primary sanctioned event is
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 ...
. Contestants on horseback run a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels set in a triangle in the arena. The quickest time determines the winner, with five second penalties assessed for each tipped barrel. The majority of the WPRA's barrel racing events are held in conjunction with
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) events. Contestants are ranked nationally, based on how much money they earned in competition. The top fifteen contestants at the end of the regular rodeo season are invited to compete at the PRCA’s
National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the fi ...
(NFR), held in December each year to determine the world champion in each event. Barrel racing has been a part of the NFR since 1967. The WPRA also has an All Women's Division which sanctions rodeos exclusively for women. These All Women's rodeos feature four events - breakaway calf roping, tie-down calf roping,
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 ...
, and barrel racing. Contestants count points earned in competition to qualify for the WPRA World Finals formerly held each autumn at the
Cowtown Coliseum Cowtown Coliseum is a 3,418-seat multi-purpose arena in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The Coliseum hosts weekly rodeos. It also hosts local sporting events and concerts and began hosting the Fort Worth Sixers of the National Indoor Foot ...
in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
. Since 2014, the event has taken place at the
Extraco Events Center The Heart O' Texas Fair Complex, now known as the Extraco Events Center, is located in Waco, Texas. It was once the prime basketball facility for Baylor University. The H.O.T Coliseum was constructed after McLennan County voters authorized a bo ...
in
Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...
. Since 2019, breakaway roping has been part of some PRCA events, making it along with barrel racing the two women’s rodeo events. The WPRA breakaway roping world championship used to be determined at the WPRA World Finals. However, since 2020, the National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR) has been held to determine the WPRA’s world champion breakaway roper. The event is held in conjunction with the PRCA’s National Finals Rodeo.


See also

*
Lists of rodeo performers The following articles contain lists of rodeo performers: * Bull Riding Hall of Fame * List of Calgary Stampede Rodeo Champions * List of Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Champions * List of Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Champions ...
*
Bull Riding Hall of Fame The Bull Riding Hall of Fame, located at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, is a hall of fame for the sport of bull riding. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Texas, a ...
*
Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, 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 ...
*
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 ...
*
American Bucking Bull American Bucking Bull (ABBI) is an organization dedicated to the registration of bucking bulls and establishing the American Bucking Bull as a documented breed of cattle. American Bucking Bull, Inc., is owned by the Professional Bull Riders ( ...
*
International Professional Rodeo Association The International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) is the second-largest American rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions rodeos in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship ev ...
*
Bull Riders Only Bull Riders Only, Inc. (BRO) was a professional bull riding organization based in Englewood, Colorado, United States. History Inspired by years of successful unsanctioned stand-alone bull riding events, businessman and former bull rider, Shaw P ...
*
Professional Roughstock Series The Professional Roughstock Series (PRS) was an American rodeo organization based in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, United States. It featured American rodeo's three roughstock events: bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. ...
*
Championship Bull Riding Championship Bull Riding, Inc. (CBR) was a professional bull riding organization that was based in Weatherford, Texas, United States. History Stock contractor Terry Williams and Texas businessman Joel Logan founded Championship Bull Riding (CBR) ...
*
Canadian Professional Rodeo Association The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) is the governing body of professional rodeo in Canada. Its championship event is the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) held every November. History The Canadian Professional Rodeo Organization was f ...
* Federacion Mexicana de Rodeo * Australian Professional Rodeo Association


References


External links


Official website
{{Rodeo Rodeo organizations Women's occupational organizations Sports organizations established in 1948 Sports in Colorado Springs, Colorado Women in Colorado