The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the largest sanctioning body of professional Rodeos in the world, established the Circuit System in 1975. Developed to increase opportunities for “Part time cowboys”, the system divided the country into twelve regions known as “Circuits”. Since then, Canada has been added as a thirteenth Circuit. Circuits are made up of geographic regions, based on rodeo activity. Some Circuits are comprised of many states and portions of states, while three circuits are defined by a single state boundary.
At the beginning of each season, members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association declare a home circuit. While prize winnings in every PRCA rodeo count toward the world standings, Prize money won in a contestant’s home circuit count toward their Circuit Standings. Each Circuit invites their top twelve contestants in each event to their Circuit Finals. Here, contestants compete against only the members of their Circuit for a chance at a huge payout and an opportunity to compete at the National Circuit Finals, called the NFR Open each July in Colorado Springs, CO.
For many “part time” or ”regionally competitive” contestants a Circuit Title and Buckle is the pinnacle of their rodeo career.
California is one of the Circuits comprised of a single state boundary. California’s rich rodeo history can be traced back as far as any region in the United States, with evidence of rodeos going back as far as the 1700’s. In fact, it is more than likely the first unrecorded rodeo occurred on a Mexican rancho in California or Texas. The name rodeo derives from the Spanish word “rodear”, which means to encircle or round up. Spanish cowboys or “Vaqueros” realized it was much more efficient to manage livestock out on the range rather than drive them back to a corral. Roping and horsemanship skills developed in order to do this. These skills along with training wild mustangs and unbroke horses to ride were the foundation of modern rodeo events.
Early rodeos were held as an opportunity for cowboys to display horsemanship skill and compete against others either individually or representing a particular ranch. While these early rodeo events were associated with annual round ups (the gathering or moving of cattle to facilitate feeding, branding, doctoring, and/or driving to market) they quickly grew in popularity, especially in the east and Europe as fascination and interest in “The West” grew. Entrepreneurs and investors saw profit in staging rodeos and travelling “Wild West Show’s” as forms of entertainment.
Rodeos continued to gain in popularity throughout the twentieth century, with some of the biggest rodeos in the world occurring in California. Many California rodeos have now existed for over 100 years, and several have earned a coveted spot in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, including, the California Rodeo Salinas (inducted in 2008) Grand National Rodeo, Horse & Stock Show (inducted in 2008), Rowell Ranch Pro Rodeo (inducted in 2014), Clovis Rodeo (inducted in 2014), Red Bluff Round-Up (inducted in 2015) Redding Rodeo (inducted in 2016) and the Livermore Stockman’s Rodeo (inducted in 2025)
No matter where you live in California, there is a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned rodeo near you.