RODEOHOUSTON History

Rodeo has existed as a professional sport for more than 100 years, the professional rodeo cowboy has only recently begun to emerge into genuine athlete status. Cowboys are cowboys wherever they go, despite the fact that some are now world-renowned superstars.

Much of modern-day rodeo evolved from the working cowboy and his duties on the range. After months of back-breaking labor moving cattle across the country, cowboys celebrated the end of their grind by roping more cattle and riding wild broncs, but it was simply for fun and competition. But unlike the territory of an arena, the olden days of rodeo provided no chutes, no fenced-in areas and no bullfighters for protection. It was from those informal, friendly competitions in the late 1800s that the sport of rodeo evolved.

Rodeo now has evolved from its rough origins into a high-stakes, glamorous sport. It's no longer a friendly, informal competition — it's big, it's prestigious and it's tough competition with a tremendous audience. More than 20 million spectators attend rodeos each year, and millions more watch them on television. It is also big-league business for its players, who work hard for their paychecks. But the rewards can be more than monetary for those that succeed. Rodeo is more than a job and a profession for most of these competitors - it is a way of life.

RODEOHOUSTON History

RODEOHOUSTON introduced the revolutionary Super Series format in 2007. In the Super Series format, RODEOHOUSTON competitors compete in a tournament style bracket. Each Super Series has three rounds, and each event crowns an individual Super Series champion. The top four competitors from each of the five Super Series advances to one of the two Semifinal rounds.

From the Semifinal rounds, the top four in each event automatically advance to the Championship Round, and the remaining six have one more chance to compete in the Wild Card. Twelve competitors in each event vie for two spots to advance to the Championship round. From the Championship round, the top two competitors in each event will go head to head in the Championship Shootout for the chance to win $50,000 and the RODEOHOUSTON Champion title.

RODEOHOUSTON History

Ranked as the world's largest rodeo, RODEOHOUSTON invites only the top cowboys and cowgirls in the sport to compete. Reliant Stadium, the home of RODEOHOUSTON, is the only stadium of its kind built specifically for rodeo and football.

RODEOHOUSTON History

In 2011, the Cinch RODEOHOUSTON Super Shootout: North America's Champions began. It is a one-night rodeo that features champion athletes from the top 10 U.S. and Canadian rodeos competing in RODEOHOUSTON fan-favorite events â€” bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding and saddle bronc riding. This event is the richest one-day rodeo.