Rodeo is a sport, but is also a way of life, especially in Western states like Wyoming.
That’s why President Donald Trump recently hosting rodeo champions at the White House is being cheered by the industry as a huge boost for the sport. It’s a sign rodeo can share the spotlight with other mainstream sports.
Rodeo’s “relevance and importance today is bigger than ever,” said Paul Woody, chief marketing officer for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s (PRCA).
Woody said interest in the sport has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic because it was one of the few activities that was able to continue operating and gave communities an opportunity to get together.
That Trump welcomed the 2025 PRCA and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world champions to the White House isn’t just a great accolade for them, it’s also a huge moment for rodeo overall, Woody said.
The last time the PRCA was invited to the White House, Ronald Reagan was president.
“It’s a time when it’s good to wear a cowboy hat,” Woody told Cowboy State Daily.
Rodeo’s national relevance
Phil Van Horn is a former chairman of Cheyenne Frontier Days who said the resolve and grit that are hallmarks of the sport are appealing to a lot of people.
“I have a lot of admiration for those men and women,” Van Horn said, noting that “their training and practice and camaraderie and their support for each other.
“They’re always putting up their own money for entry fees.”
Woody called rodeo “the only sport that is a way of life.”
“We are certainly excited that people view us as entertainment,” he said. “We fill arenas all over the country year-round. But it’s also an actual lifestyle. That is a true distinction from any other sport.”
As interest in the sport has grown, so has its earning power. Where the PRCA used to track an annual payout of about $50 million, it now pays out nearly $80 million annually.
Woody said this is a testament to what rodeo means in rural communities across the country.
White House Visit
For the first time in 43 years, rodeo made its mark on the White House.
Ten rodeo champions represented the PRCA and WPRA during a visit to the White House on March 13.
President Trump, who was presented with a $10,000 custom Resistol 1776 cowboy hat by the PRCA, acknowledged the visit as a celebration of the grit of rural athletes.
Wyoming Connection
The event’s attendees comprised the organizations’ 2025 champions, including all-around/bull riding champion Stetson Wright, bareback rider Rocker Steiner, steer wrestler Tucker Allen, team ropers Andrew Ward and Jake Long, barrel racer Kassie Mowry and breakaway roper Taylor Munsell.
While none of this year’s rodeo champions hail from Wyoming, Cheyenne Frontier Days President and CEO Tom Hirsig said the best of the best compete in Wyoming, and rodeo being recognized at the presidential level is great news for the Cowboy State.
The PRCA has recently voted to move its headquarters, Hall of Fame, and museum from Colorado Springs to Cheyenne.
That move would mark the rodeo equivalent of getting the NFL headquarters, Hirsig told Cowboy State Daily. The move is far from a done deal, as it is contingent on securing a site in Cheyenne and on the PRCA finding a way to pay for the move.
“Wyoming lives and breathes rodeo,” said PRCA CEO Tom Glause.
40-Plus Years In The Making
The last time a rodeo delegation was invited to the White House was in 1983.
While Woody said he can’t speak to rodeo’s relevance over the past 40 years, its recent popularity is largely due to the communal nature of the sport.
“The importance of communal events cannot be understated,” he said, adding that rodeo does not have an off season.
For the March event, President Trump held a reception and talked to the rodeo athletes about the importance of agriculture and the sport and donned that Resistol 1776 hat.
The $10,000 cowboy hat, gifted to Trump by the PRCA in honor of the visit and America’s 250th birthday, features a diamond and a 10-karat gold concho (decorative disc similar to a belt buckle) inspired by Betsy Ross. The preamble of the U.S. Constitution is printed inside the liner.
The visit brought attention to rodeo as a patriotic and American sport that showcases the grit of Western athletes.
“It was an incredible opportunity,” Woody said.
Hirsig remarked that sports teams of all kinds visit the White House, and for rodeo to be put on that level is exciting.
“For all of rodeo it’s great to be recognized at the presidential level,” he said. “What a great deal.”
Woody said the event was a year and a half in the making.
“We have to figure out how to highlight these incredible Americans for the nation,” he said. “We hope it won’t be another 43 years until we’re invited back.”
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
