PRORODEO Sports News - March 7, 2025

HOME OF THE NAVAJO PRCA RODEO INTRODUCES CULTURE, TRADITION

By Zach Alvira

The Home of the Navajo PRCA Rodeo introduces the Navajo culture and tradition to rodeo goers in Window Rock, Ariz. PRCA Photo by Jake Hodnett

Rodeo is a way of life in the Navajo Nation. The people widely live off the land, raising sheep, cattle and other livestock from a young age. Win dow Rock, a small town near the Arizona-New Mexico border, serves as the capital of the Navajo people. It’s also where a staple in the community, the Home of the Navajo PRCA Rodeo, takes place three days out of the year. “It’s special because it’s the hometown rodeo,” said Derrick Begay, a PRCA Team Roper and na tive of the Navajo Nation. “The reason I do what I do today is because of Window Rock. That was the one that was closest to home where I could go and see all the big names … all the guys you

would read about in magazines and see on TV. “Having a pro rodeo put an interest in me to do that.” The Home of the Navajo PRCA Rodeo wasn’t to the scale it is today just two years ago. The rodeo went through some difficult times, where it saw a decrease in participants due to other rodeos increasing their purses and payouts for events. As Window Rock remained mostly stagnant, other rodeos began to expand, welcoming in cow boys who previously attended the Navajo Nation rodeo as they made changes to their routes. Recognizing the need for change, the Navajo Nation Division for Natural Resources sought

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