The
Women's Professional Rodeo Association was formed in 1948
when thirty-eight cowgirls came together in San Angelo,
Texas to create an organization dedicated to the promotion
and advancement of women in the sport of rodeo. The earliest
pioneers of the Girl's Rodeo Association (GRA) were ropers,
bronc riders, and barrel racers. They were fed up with
a system which did not grant them competitive opportunities
in the arena and, when it did, operated under unfair conditions.The
GRA began with 74 original members with 60 approved contests
and total payout of $29,000. In 1981 the GRA changed its
name to the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.
It is the oldest women’s sports association in the
country and the only one governed entirely by women.
Today, the
fast paced event of barrel racing dominates the activities
of most WPRA members. WPRA barrel racers compete for
millions of dollars each year, culminating in twelve
circuit finals rodeos held throughout the country, the
Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo held in Pocatello,
Idaho in April, and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
held in Las Vegas each December.
The WPRA
still honors its roots by hosting the WPRA World Finals
Rodeo in Tulsa, Oklahoma each November. The World Finals
Rodeo is the largest all-women’s rodeo event in
the world. At the World Finals, the WPRA crowns world
champions in ten events, including original events,
bareback riding, bull riding, tie down roping, team
roping, and breakaway roping.
In addition
to the traditional events, the WPRA has formed new programs
to promote growth in the industry. Beginning in 2007,
the WPRA now crowns a WPRA Junior World Champion Barrel
Racer through its WPRA Juniors program for ladies under
the age of eighteen. The WPRA also crowns world champions
in the futurity and derby programs, designed for young
horses in their first years of competition.
Today, the
Association is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado
and boasts of over two thousand members. The WPRA is
governed by a fourteen member Board of Directors and
officers of President and Vice-President, all elected
by popular vote of the membership. The membership is
spread across the entire United States as well as several
Canadian provinces. WPRA members compete for millions
of dollars in prize money each year and are now featured
in their own television show, “Women’s Pro
Rodeo Today,” which runs Wednesday nights on RFD-TV.
In 2008 the
WPRA celebrated sixty years of women in rodeo and are
looking forward to the next sixty as the future of women
in the sport of rodeo has never looked better.
The WPRA
. . . the past, present, and future of women in rodeo!
