PRORODEO Sports News - March 21, 2025

WHILE IT MIGHT SEEM SIMPLE TO CREDIT TAYLOR SHERIDAN AND HIS YELLOWSTONE UNIVERSE FOR THE INCREASED INTEREST IN WESTERN CULTURE AND RODEO, IT ’ S CERTAINLY A PLACE TO START THE CONVERSATION.

to be on the rise. But why? And more importantly, what’s next?

MONEY TALKS Money may not grow on trees. But for many PRCA rodeos, it’s made on the backs of stock, more frequently in large arenas. RodeoHouston, the top regular season rodeo in the PRCA, concluded March 23 after paying out more than $2.5 million in earnings. Winning contestants walked away with a record $65,000, which all counts in the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings. The rodeo has become a must compete event for athletes, with winnings that large helping them qualify for the coveted 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge in Las Vegas. But Houston has become more than just a rodeo. It’s become a spectacle, and a great one at that. Nightly concerts for more than 70,000 fans all packed into the Houston Texans’ NRG Stadium has further increased the excitement for rodeo – or at the very least putting more money and eyes onto it. But Houston isn’t alone in providing cowboys with huge rodeo pay days. The state of Utah has become a gold mine for potential NFR qualifiers. Every July the State of Utah celebrates Pioneer Week the third week of July with the culmination of the celebration being July 24, marking the day when Brigham Young and a determined company of Mormon pioneers realized their dreams upon entering the Great Salt Valley. Rodeo has long played a part during this celebration with the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo, the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo and the Ogden Pioneer Days all being contested during this time. In 2023, these three PRCA rodeos joined together to offer nearly $2 million in payouts– all happening within a 5-day span and within a 100

The show premiered in 2018, spawning two currently airing spinoffs and a third that is still in production. Even though it’s a fictional story, the drama has been credited for shining a fairly authentic and accurate light on ranch life and the American West, providing a glimpse into the experience. “There is that Yellowstone effect. People talk about it, and it is real,” said Teton Ridge CEO Deidre Lester. “As someone who comes from the East Coast, everyone was watching that series and it shined a light back on ranch life, the middle of America that you don’t always see highlighted in Hollywood movies and televisions shows. So, that definitely drew a lot of interest from sort of a casual, what we call, ‘the cowboy curious’ audience.” Seeing the action unfold on a screen is one thing. Experiencing it is another. “Sadly, the pandemic was awful, but it also woke people up to wanting to be outside, wanting to be outdoors, experiencing getting back to being out in the world,” Lester continued. “And I think rodeo is a great representation of that. I do think that rodeo also hung in there during the pandemic. There

were some changes that had to happen to accommodate what was going on in Las Vegas, I know, but at the same time rodeo marched on and I think that was important as well. And I think that that drew a lot of people in that maybe were reconnecting with the sport.” John Travolta sparked a craze in the 1980s. In the 1990s, it was almost impossible to go a day without hearing “Friends in Low Places” on the radio. Today’s popularity push is credited to a catalogue of shows about the Dutton family, both now and in the past. Longstanding and loyal fans have always been there when it comes to PRORODEO. Lately, they’re being joined by a plethora of new faces. Attendance records at numerous events, both big and small, have been reset in the last several years. Additionally, viewership of The Cowboy Channel, the rodeo and western specific cable network and streaming service, has seen significant upticks. In 2023, the network saw a 64 percent increase in viewership compared to 2022 during its annual “100 Rodeos in 100 Days” event. It’s a pattern that shows passion for the Western way of life continues

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