PRCA promises more involvement in youth rodeo

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctions pro rodeo events and thus is not officially affiliated with college rodeo, high school rodeo, junior rodeo, and the Little Britches rodeo program.

The PRCA, however, recognizes the value of those youth programs to the professional organization’s future and plans to become more involved with the lower-level programs.

“We’re actually going to get into a recruiting program and get more involved,” said John Davis, the PRCA’s director of member relations, during interviews following the PRCA press conference December 11 in Las Vegas.

Davis said that the PRCA’s involvement would include clinics, including safety-oriented clinics.

“We want those associations to be successful and the contestants to be successful,” he said.

Davis spends most of the time on the road in his current position, which will give him some flexibility in the PRCA’s youth outreach plans. “We’ll be out to different associations,” he said.

The PRCA has a minimum participation age of 18.

College rodeo is not sanctioned by the governing bodies of college athletics, and college rodeo participants are not required to maintain amateur status. Some college rodeo association members also hold PRCA cards or permits.

“We’ll be going more to the high school,” said Davis.

Davis notes that the PRCA’s current stars will eventually retire. “We’re looking for people to come up and take their spots,” he said.