The NFR Open is an annual championship

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

event of the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

(PRCA) held annually in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The event was previously known as the National Circuit Finals Rodeo (NCFR) from 1987 through 2021, before being renamed as the NFR Open in 2022. Qualification for the event comes via winning the season title or winning the average title at the regional circuit finals rodeos in

bareback riding Bareback riding is a form of equestrianism, horseback riding without a saddle. It requires skill, balance, and coordination, as the rider does not have any equipment to compensate for errors of balance or skill. Proponents of bareback riding arg ...

steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it fall ...

team roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a Cattle#Terminology, steer (typically a Corriente) and two equestrianism, mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the fr ...

saddle bronc riding Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or ''bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally bas ...

tie-down roping Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping in the United States and Canada and rope and tie in Australia and New Zealand, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to cat ...

barrel racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur an ...

breakaway roping Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. It is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted rider. The calves are moved one at a time through narrow runs leading to a chute with spring- ...

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

. To qualify, a competitor must compete in one of the 12 PRCA U.S. regional circuits; Montana, Mountain States, Wilderness, Columbia River, California, Turquoise, Texas, Prairie, Badlands, Great Lakes, Southeast, and First Frontier. At the NFR Open, competitors go through two longer performances to compete for eight spots for the semi-finals. The semis and the finals are in sudden death format. The top four times and scores will advance to the one go-round final. Whoever has the top score or time in the finals is crowned the PRCA U.S. National Champion for the year. Each different circuit also competes at the NFR Open as a team and the best performing circuit wins the PRCA National Circuit Team Championship. From 1987 through 2010, the NCFR was held every spring in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, Idaho, Power County, containing the city's airport. It is t ...

. Then from 2011 through 2013, the event took place in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. The event moved to

Guthrie, Oklahoma Guthrie is a city and county seat in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. Its population was 10,191 at the 2010 census, a 2.7% increase from 9,925 in the 2000 census. First known as a railroad st ...

, in 2014. In 2015, the NCFR moved to

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...

. In 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the NCFR was rescheduled and moved to the Stampede Arena from September 10 through 13 in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 17.12% since the ...

. This event was closed to the public. In 2021, the NCFR returned to Kissimmee, Florida, and was held during its normal run in the springtime, but consisted of a limited and socially distanced crowd due to the ongoing pandemic. Since 2016, the PRCA has had a partnership with the

Federación Mexicana de Rodeo La Federación Mexicana de Rodeo (FMR) or the Mexican Rodeo Federation is the governing body of professional American rodeo in Mexico. It is based in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. History The FMR was created to support and protect rodeo cowboys and cowg ...

(FMR) (Mexican Rodeo Federation). Rodeo contestants compete in a series of events co-sectioned by the PRCA and FMR called the PRCA-FMR Tour. It has a year-end finals event and the tour champions and finals champions from the previous calendar year competed at the NCFR beginning in 2017. This lasted through 2020, until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the PRCA's partnership with the FMR to pause for three years. Since 2023, the PRCA-FMR Tour champions again compete at the NFR Open. The season champions of the Maple Leaf Circuit, which was forged between a partnership with the PRCA and

Canadian Professional Rodeo Association The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) is the governing body of professional rodeo in Canada. Its championship event is the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) held every autumn. History The Canadian Professional Rodeo Organization was fou ...

(CPRA), first competed at the NCFR in 2020 and have consistently competed annually at the NFR Open since then. In 2022, the National Circuit Finals Rodeo was renamed as the NFR Open and now takes place every July at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

. In 2024, the PRCA and Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo signed a seven-year contract extension to keep the NFR open in Colorado Springs. In 2008, the

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, p ...

, inducted the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in the Rodeo Committees category.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:NFR Open Rodeos ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees