Rodeo has a long history

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1998 | 2:16 a.m.

While no one knows for sure when rodeo actually began, it's likely to have been going on in one form or another for over a hundred years.

Unlike other sports, which evolved from games or relaxation, rodeo grew from the actual work of cowboys, such as the taming of horses or the capturing of calves for branding.

In the 1920s, the Rodeo Association of America formed, loosely comprised of North American rodeo committees and promoters. It wasn't until 1936, however, that cowboys united to demand equality in prize money and consistency in judging.

The Cowboys Turtle Association, as this organization was called, lasted until 1945, when it became known as the Rodeo Cowboys Association. Thirty years later it would finally become the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Today the PRCA boasts more than 11,000 members and sanctions well over 700 rodeos throughout the United States and Canada.

In the last decade the prize money awarded at PRCA's National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas has more than doubled, and is to exceed $4 million this year.

The PRCA headquarters are located next to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy in Colorado Springs, Colo.