PRCA promises more involvement in youth rodeo

Joe Naiman

Village News Correspondent

Thursday, January 3^rd, 2008.
Issue 01, Volume 12.

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," Advertisement
Embedded Ad 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.

9 comments for "PRCA promises more involvement in youth rodeo"

1. eric mills says :

Surely the PRCA is aware that the Humane Society of the U.S. and the American Humane Association have a joint policy statement condemning all rodeos due to their inherent cruelty, and for the negative message about animal abuse that such an activity gives to impressionable young children.

I share that sentiment, as does every other major animal welfare organization in the U.S. For most of the animals involved, rodeo is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse.

Sincerely,
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS

2. Spring Fling says :

Kids with rodeo and ag backgrounds know more about animals than the average adult. I was raised that my animals welfare comes before mine. They eat before I do, regardless of time of day, weather, etc. Animals are our family and our business. We won't jeopardize either. HSUS, AHA, & AFA are not animal welfare organizations, they are animal rights groups.

3. Northound says :

Bravo!! If more children grew up in this enviroment they would learn to have responsibilities, have goals and know the commitment it takes to raise, care and train these remarkable animals. And I would bet my life they would have more compassion and respect for their fellow man. They certainly would not be so closed minded and sheltered as the people that make false statements about cowboys, cowgirls and their livestock.

4. Rodeo is Great says :

Eric....How can rodeo be merely a detour
en route to the slaughterhouse???Since the US has no more slaughterhouses for horses?....Our horses and practice calves are fed before we eat...they are taken very well care of and sad but true alot of the cattle will go to the slaughterhouse either after the rodeo or just to the slaughterhouse...some of us like steak.
Most of the action group don't undersand...animals. Just like the Michael Vick deal....it's OK for a group to put all his dogs to sleep and kill them....That seems a lot like dog fighting to me.

5. Varmit says :

I have found that old roping heifers make the best cows. They are use to being handled and fed everyday while they are roping calves. Had 85 cows at one time that were all old roping calves. Saying they go to the slaughter house is just a misrepresentation of what really happens in the real world.

6. The Rodeo Guide says :

Eric Mills trolls rodeo related stories and posts inaccurate statements like this all the time. The sole aim is not to present facts but instead to create controversy.

Let me clear things up -

On Page 62 of the American Humane Association's Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media it states, and I quote, "When staging rodeo scenes for filming, or collaborating with existing rodeos to procure rodeo scenes for a film, production must, at a minimum, comply with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Rules for the Humane Treatment of Rodeo Livestock..."

Kind of funny that an Association that is supposedly 'anti-rodeo' according to Mr. Mills recommends that Media actually follow the standards that are in use at PRCA rodeos across the country.

Once again the animal rights movement misspeaks and misrepresents the facts as they do quite often and purposefully.

There is a huge difference between animal welfare groups and animal rights groups. Welfare groups recognize that use of animals is a natural right (including for sport such as rodeo and equestrian events) and aims to outline safe practices for their use while animal '"rights" groups aim to end ALL animal use by humans.

Unfortunately animal rights groups have begun to disguise themselves as welfare groups in the hopes to advance their agenda which has for the most part stagnated with a majority of Americans.

Ralph Clark
About Guide to Rodeo

7. CLroper1 says :

Eric Mills doesn't now his ass from a hole in the ground, needless to say that's about all he seems to know about animals, rodeo, and "our way of life." This is a life that we choose to live as children. I think it is alot better than the generation of zombies that only knows interaction with technology rather than compassionate relationships with living things that are meant to enhance life. Eric, for your information life was created with animals. there was a time when technology was non-existent and human survival and interaction depended on animals, especially those of livestock nature. Rodeo animals like what they do or else they would not perform as well as they do.

8. The Rodeo Guide says :

Mr. Mills has recently sent me a Joint Policy Statement from the Humane Society of the US and the American Human Association that condemns rodeo and has demanded an apology from me for my previous statements.

What Mr. Mills failed to notice (or maybe purposely failed to notice) is that the statement he sent me is from March of 1982. Let me say that again ... 1982.

The reality is that the AHA has distanced itself from that extremist position and its CURRENT animal welfare positions available on their website don't even mention rodeo at all. For those of you interested - the policy statement I am referring to is from 2006 (that's 2-years ago Mr. Mills, not 26 years ago).

This kind of misinformation and misquoting is typical of the animal rights movement. The reality is - as stated before - that the AHA recommends that animal handlers use the policies developed by the PRCA, as does the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

Since I am an advocate for rodeo and Mr. Mills is an animal rights activist - you shouldn't believe either one of us.

Find out for yourself. Rodeo has nothing to fear when you really begin to understand it. Look it up for yourself, however in the case of Mr. Mills' information you may have to search in the history section.

In the final paragraph of the statement Mr. Mills sent me it says this ... "This landmark event, bringing together the AHA and the HSUS on this important issue has the potential for dealing rodeo in this country a very damaging blow."

Thousands of rodeos later, with more rodeo associations now than there ever has been, with bull riding, barrel racing, and team roping breaking out on their own and becoming successful, with big-league cowboy sports expanding to Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia ... the fact that this policy is even still used by the extremist animal rights movement is laughable.

Rather than demanding an apology from me, maybe Mr. Mills should first apologize to anyone he's misled over the years.

As for me? I'll see you all at a rodeo...

Ralph Clark
About Guide to Rodeo

9. KS Cowboy says :

Mr Mills If You would spend more time going to a rodeo a seeing the care that is taken with the animals you would not be wasting our time with your untruths. My Kids rodeo and care for their own animals every day. Northound said it great, Rodeo Kids will grow up too be better human beings then you tree huggers

PRCA promises more involvement in youth rodeo

9 comments for "PRCA promises more involvement in youth rodeo"

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