Home » Sports » Rodeo Culture » On the Road Again…The Circuit Cowboy

On the Road Again…The Circuit Cowboy

© Diana Rowe Martinez

What do you call a weekend warrior that works Monday through Friday at the "real" job, sits down to dinner each night with his family? This same man (or woman), on Friday after work, isn't at the local bar enjoying happy hour or at home with his or her family enjoying the weekend, s/he's on the road putting miles on his truck?

This is the unglamorous but very busy life of a circuit cowboy. While full-time rodeo cowboys win most of the glory (and money) in the arena, most PRCA (Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association) members are circuit cowboys. When the weekend hits, he loads up his horses and/or equipment and heads down the road, generally no more than a few hundred miles to a rodeo. These cowboys are as serious about their sport as their more famous counterparts, but their families or professional obligations (i.e. "day jobs") require them to stick close to home most of the time. These circuit riders compete head to head with full-time, and often world-class, rodeo athletes who may travel to more than 100 rodeos each year.

In 1975, the PRCA created the Circuit System to help cowboys maintain their job and family responsibilities by staying close to home while still having a shot at the world championship. The Circuit System divides the United States into twelve (12) regions (Prorodeo Circuits):

1) Badlands 2) Columbia River 3) First Frontier 4) Great Lakes 5) Sierra 6) Montana 7) Mountain States 8) Prairie 9) Southeastern 10) Turquoise 11) Texas 12) Wilderness

These regions encompass as few as one state, such as Texas, Montana, or the Sierra circuits, to as many as thirteen (13) states, as in the First Frontier Circuit.

At the beginning of each year, each PRCA member and Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racer chooses one of these twelve (12) regional circuits as his or her "home circuit". Usually, the competitor's circuit of residence is chosen, but not always. Circuit-system cowboys compete for points throughout the year and those points earned within their circuit count toward their place in their circuit standings. (Points are generally based on earnings, a.k.a. winnings.) Circuit standings points are accumulated ONLY by competing at rodeos within one's home circuit. Points earned at rodeos outside their circuit count, but only toward WORLD standings. All PRCA cowboys are eligible to compete at the circuit level, and circuit-level cowboys are eligible to compete nationally.

Each circuit's top cowboys in each event qualify for that circuit's "finals" rodeo at season's end. These circuit finals rodeos are held soon after the PRCA season ends in early November. After all twelve (12) circuit finals, the top regular-season cowboys (again based on their accumulated points) in each event and the winners of the circuit finals rodeos quality for one of the PRCA's most prestigious events - the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo (DNCFR) held each March in Pocatello, Idaho.

The copyright of the article On the Road Again…The Circuit Cowboy in Rodeo Culture is owned by . Permission to republish On the Road Again…The Circuit Cowboy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.