March is always a favorite month for me because of the Timed Event Championship held at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, OK. Twenty of the top contestants in the world are invited to compete in this 25 head competition over five performances. It always proves to be exciting in both cowboy talent and the display of great horses. Justin McKee and I have the privilege of announcing this great event. This year the event will pay the winner $100,000 plus any other money he may win in the go round competition or record breaking bonuses. Pretty nice. For more info on this great event go to www.lazye.com.
This past month some of the top rodeo athletes announced the formation of a new rodeo association titled “The Elite Rodeo Association,” ERA which will be based out of Boerne, Texas. See their related article for more information on the new association on page 11 of this issue.
Many have asked me my opinion of the new association, so I will try and answer with food for thought rather than choosing sides. The original Turtle Association was started by cowboys who thought there was a better future for them and later became the Rodeo Cowboys Association which is now the existing PRCA. I have been a member of the PRCA since 1968 as a contestant then later as an announcer and have been proud to be a member. Through the years, there have always been suggestions on how to make it a better and stronger organization for the contestants as well as for the spectators and sponsors.
The ERA plans on showcasing the top athletes in the sport at a limited number of productions. They are planning a 15 event regular season tour for 2016. I like this idea and the idea of a shorter season for the contestants. Rodeo has turned into a 12-month tour with far too many events and demanding travel for the contestants. No other sport has as long of a season or as many events.
The Wrangler National Finals showcases the best of the sport in 10 days, selling out crowds because the fans want to see the best, unlike where a fan may go to one of the other 600 Pro Rodeos and see maybe a few of the best and a lot of other contestants who have yet to come to the top in their event. All other sports have leagues where the fan can go see the best of the sport.
The elite bull riders broke away 20 plus years ago and formed the Professional Bull Riders, PBR and have been very successful and have created a whole new fan base of people who may not have been rodeo fans. Team roping has been huge as a separate event and has made a large economic impact on the western lifestyle and has created many new rodeo fans. Barrel racers have gone their separate ways with much success. The ERA sees a vision and will recognize its stars from the ranks of the previous associations and will set a criteria in which someone may join their ranks and compete and maybe even become a vested owner.
It all sounds good and I wish them luck in their new venture remembering all the great things that have come out of ideas that sometimes people are too quick to judge. Many have said for years that the PRCA should have divisional rodeos or class-rated rodeos where the fan would know if they are going to see the best or other contestants who happen to have a card saying they are a pro but maybe have never ever won very much. This has always been a problem for the PRCA. The PRCA has tried to address this with different series throughout the year that contestants have to qualify for and then have a chance to win bonus dollars.
In our industry there is only so much you can ask from the existing sponsors to make it profitable for them and I can see that we need new sponsorships outside of the ones we have relied on for years. There are many who benefit from rodeo that it will possibly create new interest and new sponsors.
It will be interesting to watch the ERA in the coming year as they prepare for 2016.
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Ropings have been going strong in Arizona and are about to kick off the spring run on the west coast. There are plenty of ropings to go to in a variety of different organizations so brush off that horse and break out those new ropes. Be sure and get some spring maintenancedone on that trailer by makingsure everything is working well from lights to brakes and wheel bearings.
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By the time you get this issue, The American Rodeo will be over, so look for full results of that event as well as the TEC (Timed Event Championship). in the April issue of RSN.
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