172. Cedar Park Rodeo
Not the outdoor arena type? Well, you are in luck. This is not your Grandma's rodeo. The Cedar Park Rodeo is being held in the new Cedar Park Center. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 23rd-25th, you can watch rodeo action in air-conditioned comfort.
Two nights will be action packed evenings of bull riding with Professional Bull Riders taking part in the Cedar Park PBR Challenge on June 23rd and 24th. Then on Saturday night, you can finish out the weekend with professional rodeo action at the Cedar Park Pro Rodeo on June 25th.
Professional bull riding is heralded as America's original extreme sport. Headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. was
created in 1992 when a group of 20 visionary bull riders broke away from
the traditional rodeo scene seeking mainstream attention for the sport
of professional bull riding.
They felt that, as the most popular event
at a rodeo, bull riding deserved to be in the limelight and could easily
stand alone. Each rider invested a hard-earned $1,000, a few of them
borrowing from family and friends, to start the PBR. Professional bull riding is a fierce, rough, and grueling sport with
roots deeply imbedded in American culture. The PBR has evolved into a captivating and adrenaline
charged sporting event that features an all star cast of the greatest
bull riders and bucking bulls in the world.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association was created almost by accident in 1936 when a group of cowboys walked out of a rodeo at the Boston Gardens to protest the actions of rodeo promoter W.T. Johnson, who refused to add the cowboys' entry fees to the rodeo's total purse. The cowboys' strike against performing led to the formation of the Cowboys' Turtle Association. In 1945, the Turtles changed their name to the Rodeo Cowboys Association and in 1975 the organization became the PRCA.
Legend has it that rodeo was born on July 4, 1869 when two groups of cowboys from neighboring ranches met in Deer Trail, Colorado, to settle an argument over who was the best at performing everyday ranching tasks. That competition is considered to be the first rodeo which evolved into rodeo as we know it today.
A cowboy's standing in the rodeo community is still dependent on his skill with a rope or his ability to ride a bucking animal. The cowboy code still dictates that a cowboy ought to help his fellow competitors, even though they may be competing against each other.
The PRCA is headquartered in Colorado Springs which also houses the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy. The richest cash rodeo is the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, Canada which began in 1912.
Rodeo is today a competitive sport based on the skills of tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding and barrel racing. Events are divided into two basic categories: rough stock events and timed events. Rodeo is the official state sport of Wyoming, South Dakota and Texas.
A typical rodeo begins with a Grand Entry in which mounted riders carrying flags, and others enter the arena at a gallop, circle once, come to the center of the arena and stop while the remaining participants enter. Sometimes a rodeo queen is crowned with runners-up presented. Variety acts, such as musicians, trick riders and clowns may entertain at the midpoint intermission.
Go rodeo, yeehaa!
Location: Cedar Park Center
2100 Avenue of the Stars
Cedar Park, TX 78613
512-600-5000
When: June 23-25th, 7:30 p.m. Ticket Information
http://www.cedarparkcenter.com/
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