The Wrangler ProRodeo Tour is expanding from 21 to 26 elite events for the 2008 season, including three of the top four prize money rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association -- Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days, San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo.
The 26 rodeos in this year's lineup combined to offer prize money of nearly $8.3 million in 2007 and will project at something closer to $9 million in 2008, without taking into account the highly-successful Ariat Playoffs series at season's end, which this year paid out $1.62 million to the contestants who qualified.
For the third consecutive year, the Wrangle ProRodeo Tour will begin at the SandHills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas, Jan. 4-12. It will be followed by the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Jan. 12-27; the Black Hills Stock Show Rodeo, in Rapid City, S.D., Jan. 31-Feb. 3 and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Feb. 1-16. The Wrangler ProRodeo Tour again concludes with the Dodge City (Kan.) Round-Up, in early August.
Contestants choose which 15 of the 26 rodeos they want to have counted toward their Wrangler ProRodeo Tour standings and the top 35 finishers in each event qualify for the first round of the four-tiered Ariat Playoffs, along with the winners of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho, in March.
Playoff Round 1 takes place Caldwell, ID August 12-18, 2008
Playoff Round 2 takes place Puyallup, WA September 5-7, 2008
Playoff Round 3 takes place Omaha, NE September 25-27, 2008
Playoff Round 4 takes place Dallas, TX November