abouttherodeo

If one could step back in time about a hundred twenty years or so, little in the way of entertainment could be found. More than likely, out of pure boredom and desperation, ranch hands decided to make their day's work into their form of entertainment, a competition to see "Who Was The Best" at what they did.

The Rodeo was Born

Rodeo has come a long way from its roots in the 1860s and 1870s roundup camps when the annual roundup and branding of cattle encouraged informal contests among the working cowboys. Today, rodeo is a competitive sport and a big business. With more than 170,000 fans attending the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and more than 13 million viewers turning in to the Finals on ESPN, rodeo is more popular and competitive than ever.

High School Rodeo

Texas educator Claude Mullins developed the NHSRA (National High School Rodeo Association) in the late 1940s as a way to convince ranch kids in his state to stay in school and earn their diplomas.

The first national finals rodeo was conducted that same year (1949) in Hallettsville, Texas, with champions from each state competing against one another. These five states formed the beginnings of the NHSRA. The association was incorporated in 1961 in South Dakota and nearly 300 contestants from 20 states took part in the national finals that year.

Mullins teamed with Alton Allen and Leon Kahanek to create the National Championship High School Rodeo Association. At the time the association sponsored a rodeo only for kids in Texas. Some 100 contestants took part in the first event in June 1947. The following year a similar event was held in New Mexico, and in 1949 Louisiana, Montana and South Dakota also held state rodeos.