subject: Amateurs Enjoy The Thrill Of Circuit Rodeos [print this page] Circuit rodeos were created as a sort of in-between solution to a problem that faced rodeo participants who had a lot of talent but couldn't manage to do rodeos as their full-time profession. There were already many professional rodeos leading to the big national championships, such as the National Finals Rodeo that was held, until recently, every year in Las Vegas; however, regular participation in these was often more than some people could manage. So the professional associations created the rodeo circuits to allow these often very skilled people to continue to do rodeo in a way that fit their own circumstances.
Circuit rodeos were originally created by professional organizations in 1975 when they recognized that there was just as much need for non-professional rodeo participants as for the pros to have some way to show off their expertise and compete with each other.
These circuit participants are dubbed "weekend warriors," not because they merely dabble in rodeo as a hobby on the weekends, but because the work week usually has to be reserved for their main income earning. But in their local circuit, they are just as much champion cowboys and cowgirls as the professionals.
There are twelve circuits in all, some containing the circuit rodeos of several smaller or less populated states, and others, like Texas, having a full circuit all its own. Participants sign up for a circuit, usually the one in the geographical area in which they live, at the beginning of the rodeo season. They compete through the whole season in all the usual events, like steer and calf roping, bronco riding, and so on. And at the end of the year, the cowboys at the top of the standings in their circuit join in the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo for a championship competition.
If someone participates in the circuit rodeos rather than the full-time professional rodeos, it doesn't mean that they are slackers or not fully dedicated to rodeo. It just means that in between their bareback riding, roping and other activities, they've got day jobs to do or family obligations to keep. What these rodeo circuits mean to such people is that they don't have to give up what they love in order to fulfill those obligations. They can actually manage to do both.
