National Western Stock Show Volunteer Photographer
Your Guide to Tournament-Style Rodeos
Many of the major rodeos across the country have decided they like the tournament-style format. Kicking off the new year, fans were able to watch the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver as a tournament style, and that led right into the Fort Worth Stock Show (FWSS), which also offers a tournament. So, you finally figured out how Denver worked, Fort Worth will be a breeze. Slow down, partner; the rules are not the same.
While it would be advantageous for fans and contestants alike to have a standard format for tournament-style rodeos, each rodeo is allowed to make up its own rules, so to speak. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) approves the rodeos but basically leaves it to the rodeo committee for the setup.
Breaking Down Denver
At the NWSS, 40 contestants pre-qualify themselves via the world standings along with the Mountain States circuit standings. To complete the list of 80 entries in each event, Denver conducts a "qualifier" where the final 40 are determined. The qualifier is two full go rounds where the top 10 in each go earn the right to go to the actual Denver rodeo along with the top 20 in the average.
Once the field is determined, eight brackets are set, and each set includes 10 competitors. Each bracket has two go-rounds that are scheduled in a back-to-back format, meaning two performances together - sometimes even on the same day.
Each set of 10 battles to earn the top three spots in the average (combined time on two go rounds). No money is paid out in the brackets. The money is distributed after all of the brackets have gone and the times combined per go-round.
The top three contestants in each bracket move on to the semifinals, which means a total of 24 people. These are split into three performances of semifinals where the slate is wiped clean. Out of this set of eight, the top four move on to the finals (a total of 12). Again, the competition starts over, and the best man wins on one head in the finals.
To give a payout comparison, each round at Denver paid between $3,667 and $4,190 for 1st, depending on the event. Making this easy to understand, a person had to outrope, out-ride, or outrun 79 other people to win the round and earn the first-place check.
Each performance of the semifinals paid four of the eight contestants. Again, the payoff varied a little but was around $3,200 for 1st.
The final performance contains 12 contestants per event where the fastest time or highest score wins with no times carried forward. The finals pay around $5,000 per event - it varies a lot between events.
Fort Worth Facts
Moving on to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, one would feel confident that they now understood the situation, but you would be mistaken.
Fort Worth is completely different. To begin with, only 56 contestants were allowed to enter the rodeo. These contestants are determined by the world standings and a list of Texas rodeos throughout the year.
Those 56 are broken into seven brackets of eight competitors a piece. Again, they contest in two full go-rounds, but a major difference is that each round pays. This is important to understand because the qualifiers are determined by the highest money winners between the two go-rounds for each bracket. The payoff is as follows: 1st - $2,000; 2nd - $1,500; 3rd - $1,000; 4th - $500.
There is no weight put on the average; it is strictly based on money won to determine the two that will move on to the semifinals. The third place in the total money won moves on to something called the wildcard round. This is where competitors can earn their way back into the semifinals even though they weren't in the top two of their bracket.
Once in the semifinals, there will be two performances of eight contestants each. No previous times are carried forward, and it is one go-round. According to the ground rules published by the WPRA, the semifinals pay $4,000 - $3,000 - $2,000 - $1,000 for first through fourth, respectively. The top four in each of those performances move on to the finals, making a total of eight people or teams in the finals.
The finals is a do-or-die situation again where no previous times are carried forward. The best performance wins. The payoff for the finals, according to the WPRA, will be: 1st -$20,000; 2nd - $12,000; 3rd - $8,000; 4th - $4,000.
San Antonio and RODEOHOUSTON Facts
Having broken down the previous two rodeos, these will just be listed by facts. The point will remain that every single rodeo is different.
San Antonio
How many contestants? 50 (40 from standings and 10 from a qualifier held in Uvalde, Texas)
How many brackets? 5 each consisting of 10 contestants
How many go-rounds per bracket? 3
Do the brackets pay? Yes, each performance pays
Bracket payoff: 1st - $2,500; 2nd - $2,000; 3rd - $1,500; 4th - $1,000
How to advance to semifinals: The top four money winners per bracket move on to the semifinals.
How many contestants compete in semifinals? 20
How many semifinals performances? 2 each having 10 contestants
What does the semifinals/Wildcard pay? 1st - $5,000 2nd - $4,000 3rd - $3,000 4th - $2,000
How do you get to finals? The times do not carry forward, but the money won does. The five high-money winners from each semifinal performance, when you add the brackets plus the semifinals, move on to the finals.
Is there a wildcard? Yes. The wildcard contestants are the ones that don't move on from the semifinals. They compete again and then only the top one moves to the finals.
How many are in the finals? 11
Who wins? Well, again, the times don't carry forward, but the money does. So, the highest money winner is the champion.
What does the finals pay? 1st - $15,000; 2nd - $10,000; 3rd - $5,000; 4th - $3,000
RODEOHOUSTON
Well, here we go again.
How many contestants? 40 (all invited)
How many brackets? 5 each consisting of 8 contestants
How many go-rounds per bracket? 3
Do the brackets pay? Yes, each performance pays
Bracket payoff: 1st - $3,000; 2nd - $2,000; 3rd - $1,000; 4th - $750; 5th - $500; 6th - $250
How to advance to semifinals: The top four money winners per bracket move on to the semifinals.
How many contestants compete in semifinals? 20
How many semifinals performances? 2 each having 10 contestants
What does the semifinals pay? 1st - $3,000; 2nd - $2,000; 3rd - $1,000; 4th - $750
How do you get to finals? The slate is wiped clean, and the top four from each semifinals move on.
Is there a wildcard? Yes. The wildcard contestants are the ones that don't move on from the semifinals. They compete again and then only the top one moves to the finals.
How many are in the finals? 9
What is the Shootout round? Well, from the finals, the top 4 of the 9 move on to yet another round called the shootout. Then, it is a sudden death.
Who wins? The shootout round determines the champion, and it is the fastest time/highest score on the final run.
What does the finals pay? 1st - $50,000; 2nd - $20,000; 3rd - $10,000; 4th - $5,500; 5th - 10th $2,500 each
If you stayed this long, no doubt you are probably confused, but we hope this helps lay it out a little bit and make it easier to understand. Good luck.
