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Rodeo is a traditional folk North American sport with influences from the history of Mexican vaqueros Rodeo (cowboys) and American cowboys. Rodeo events include the rough stock events bull riding, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, the timed events steer wrestling, team roping, calf roping, the rarely seen steer roping, and women's barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat roping and pole bending. The participants include cowboys, cowgirls and also rodeo clowns or bull fighters. See also gymkhana and polo.

The oldest and largest sanctioning body of professional rodeo is the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) which sanctions around 700 rodeos annually. The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) is a recent organization dedicated to Bull Riding and puts on a number of events. There are also high school rodeos, amateur rodeos, and rodeos for women. Some colleges, such as the University of Montana have a rodeo team. The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association is responsible for the College National Rodeo Finals. Also available is the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA). This organization offers internationally competitive rodeo to high school students.

There are numerous rodeos held throughout the United States and Canada. Among the more prominent are the Calgary Stampede; Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming; the National Western Stock Show in Denver; Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston, Texas; and the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada Rodeo Drive . The NFR is held each December at the Thomas & Mack Center and features the top 15 competitors (in terms of earnings) from each of the events. In 2003, it is estimated that attandance at the 10 days of the National Finals Rodeo will top more than 170,000 with another 9 million people watching the rodeo on television.

Rodeo first appeared as an exhibition Olympic sport at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Native Americans are active in rodeo and have their own associations, see Indian rodeo.

Criticism of rodeos Isuzu Rodeo

Animal rights and animal welfare organizations are vocal critics of rodeos, because of reported injuries and distress to the animals involved. American Humane contends that rodeos are not an accurate or harmless portrayal of ranching skills; rather, they display and encourage an insensitivity to the acceptance of brutal treatment of animals in the name of sport.

Much of the criticism is incorrectly drawn to the spectacular, but generally harmless (to the animals) rough stock events: bull riding, bareback bronc riding and saddle bronc riding. The timed events such as calf roping and especially steer roping pose a greater likelihood of injury to the animals. The rodeo associations have made some changes to reduce the chances of injury, such as requiring older, heavier calves for calf roping, larger steers for steer wrestling and many rodeos no longer have steer roping.

Notable rodeos worldwide

Calgary Stampede and Exhibition in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Blue Rodeo

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston, Texas, United States
Mesquite Championship Rodeo in Mesquite, Texas, United States
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo in San Antonio, Texas, United States
National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada
Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, Alberta
Worlds Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Arizona

Rodeo Associations

Australian Professional Rodeo Association
All Indian Rodeo Cowboys Association
Cowboys Turtle Association
National High School Rodeo Association
National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Professional Bull Riders
Rodeo Association of America
Women's Professional Rodeo Association

Pro Rodeo