Preparing for a Rodeo: Women’s Fashion Tips and a Look at the 8 Events
by James Kevin Stott
- What to Wear to a Rodeo?
- What Should Women Wear to a Rodeo?
- What Are the 8 Rodeo Events?
- Saddle Bronc
- Bareback
- Bull Riding
- Steer Wrestling
- Calf Roping (Tie Down Roping)
- Team Roping
- Barrel Racing
- Breakaway Roping
- How Many Rodeo Circuits Are There in North America?
- How Long Does a Rodeo Last?
Thumbnail: File: Cowboys_at_a_rodeo_By: cjuneau CC-By-2.0 SA
What to Wear to a Rodeo?
Professional rodeos can be held indoors or outdoors, so what to wear to a rodeo depends on the site itself as well as the weather if held outdoors. Many big rodeos these days, like the 2024 NFR at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas are held in massive, climate-controlled arenas, so wearing clothing appropriate for an air-conditioned venue is best.
Many hardcore rodeo fans prefer to dress like cowboys or cowgirls, complete with cowboy boots, denim jeans, neckerchiefs, and cowboy hats, but you don’t have to wear any of these to enjoy a trip to a pro rodeo event. Like most sporting events outside of Tennis and Golf, there aren’t dress codes for rodeo attendees.
So dressing in something comfortable and indoor- or outdoor-climate-appropriate is the best idea for the rodeo and no one will judge you if you don’t wear clothing that looks like any of the competitors.
What Should Women Wear to a Rodeo?
What to wear to a rodeo for women? When attending a rodeo, women have more options than men in that they can dress up like cowgirls, wearing a denim dress, button-up, jumpsuit, or even a sundress with cowboy boots. Again, the weather and site may come into this decision as well as the people you are attending the event with.
One fashion you will see at rodeos is frills or fringe, and you will see women often wearing dresses or jackets with this stylish textile trimming usually made from cloth or lace.
Accessories like purses, big leather cowboy belts and buckles, turquoise jewelry, neckerchiefs, and of course, cowboy hats, are all perfect items. And nothing screams rodeo fashion for gals like a pink felt or straw cowboy hat.
But if ladies decide on a pair of jeans and cowboy boots with a simple T-shirt and a baseball cap, that’s fine too. Nobody at rodeos will judge your attire and you will still fit in just fine. Whatever suits the event, your personality, and the conditions, is the perfect choice.
What Are the 8 Rodeo Events?
There are eight events in a rodeo: three Roughstock Events and five Timed Events. Let’s take a look at each one.
Saddle Bronc
The first Roughstock event and rodeo’s marquee event is called Saddle Bronc and sees cowboys riding in the saddle and with only one hand on the western saddle and hanging on a heavy lead rope, a bronc rein, which is attached to the halter on the horse.
The rider who best rides the bucking horse (bronco) he is riding for eight seconds wins.
In this, and the below Bareback riding events, cowboys must have their feet above the horse’s shoulders when the horse's feet hit the ground. Riders who successfully do this have “marked the horse out.” If the rider’s feet haven’t met this threshold, then the rider has “missed him out” and is disqualified.
Bareback
The big difference between the Saddle Bronc and the Bareback events is the saddle. In Bareback there is no saddle and instead of a bronc rein, riders hold on to something called a “riggin,” a suitcase-style piece of equipment customized to fit the rider’s grip which is attached to a molded piece of cinched leather around the girth of the horse.
Bull Riding
The last and probably most entertaining and challenging of the Roughstock events is Bull Riding. Dubbed “the most dangerous eight seconds in sports,” this event sees riders on a bucking bull instead of a horse and demands that the cowboys also use just one hand and hold on to a thick braided rope and try to stay on the animal for at least eight seconds.
There is no markout rule in Bull Riding and the riders can earn extra points for spurring the bull. Because these bulls can be so dangerous after riders are thrown off or dismounted, you will see barrelmen and bullfighters in the arena employed to try to protect the contestants safe and away from these angry animals.
Steer Wrestling
In a timed event like Steer Wrestling, two cowboys—the steer wrestler and the hazer—are backed up in separate boxes, waiting for a steer in an adjacent box to be released from its chute.
When the steer is released, the steer wrestler on his horse is then guided by the hazer trying to keep it in a straight line next to the steer so the steer wrestler can be in the best position to jump off his horse and wrestle the steer (by its horns) to the ground.
As soon as this steer is wrestled to the ground and all four legs are facing in the same direction, the clock is stopped.
Calf Roping (Tie Down Roping)
Another of the timed events, Tie Down Roping, aka Calf Roping, involves an event cowboys on ranches have had to perform as part of their jobs—roping and tying down a Calf.
Much like Steer Wrestling, the event starts with a calf being released from the chute followed by the cowboy on horseback intent on roping and wrangling the animal. While the steers in Steer Wrestling weigh between 450 and 650 pounds, the Calves in Calf Roping weigh between 220 and 280 pounds.
The cowboy wrangles the Calf and must tie three of its legs together using a “pigging string” and then throws his hands in the air to stop the clock. Then he will remount his horse and take pressure off the rope and the calf must stay tied for six seconds for his time to qualify.
Team Roping
Another timed event with two competitors—a header and a healer—is Team Roping. This involves both cowboys coming out of the chutes on horseback with the header intent of roping the steer’s horns and the healer responsible for trying to rope the animal’s feet.
The team with the best (lowest) time wins in this two-cowboy event.
Barrel Racing
A timed event that accommodates the cowgirls as well as the cowboys is Barrel Racing, where the competitors ride a horse through a cloverleaf pattern of three barrels and not knocking any of them over. A knocked-down barrel will result in a five-second penalty in this event and the fastest run is the winner.
Breakaway Roping
The fifth and final timed event is called Breakaway Roping and this event is also popular among the women competitors. Like Tie Down Roping, the breakaway competitor waits for the Calf to leave the chute before he or she leaves the box on horseback to attempt to rope the Calf around the neck and stop their horse.
The nylon rope is attached to the rider’s saddle, and as the Calf keeps running, this rope tightens up before breaking—thus the name breakaway—when the clock is then stopped. As with all timed events, the shortest time wins here.
How Many Rodeo Circuits Are There in North America?
In the US, there are currently 12 circuits in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) including Badlands, California, Columbia River, First Frontier, Great Lakes, Montana, Mountain States, Prairie, Southeast, Texas, Turquoise, and Wilderness.
There is also one rodeo circuit in Canada, the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association (CPRA), which ends this calendar year 2024 with the Canadian Finals Rodeo from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta from October 2-5 followed by the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals from Agribition, Regina, Saskatchewan from November 27-30.
How Long Does a Rodeo Last?
A rodeo can last as short as two hours and all the way up to 10 days, depending on the particular event. The upcoming PRCA rodeo schedule PBR Bull Riders Thunder Days on Friday, August 30 at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Illinois is a good example of a shorter, two-hour rodeo you can attend.
An example of a longer rodeo is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR)—the Super Bowl of rodeos—set to be held over nine days from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas from Thursday, December 5 through Saturday, December 14.
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