September: SRSU Rodeo
Sul Ross State University in ALPINE is rightly proud of its status as the Birthplace of College Rodeo. The first-ever College Rodeo was held at Sul Ross in 1945 and The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) was officially formed here in 1949. SRSU took home the first three national titles and has since won 26 individual and 9 team national championships.
Under the leadership of current Rodeo Coach CJ Aragon, the SRSU Rodeo program has grown dramatically and is attracting top talent.
Unlike the NCAA, NIRA athletes are not barred from professional competition, so it may come as a surprise to learn that competing college athletes can simultaneously be top-ranking pros. In 2022 and 2023, SRSU’s Tristen Hutchings made college rodeo history as the first Bull Rider to win two NIRA National Championships in a row – and at the same time ranking as the 3rd best Bull Rider in the world under the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) standings.
Other SRSU athletes with stellar pro rankings include Bareback Rider Cole Franks and Bull Rider Ky Hamilton, who have each ranked 4th worldwide with the PCRA.
The SRSU NIRA Rodeo is so worth watching that for the last three years the Cowboy Channel has broadcast the event live from the S.A.L.E. Arena in Alpine.
August: Big Bend Ranch Rodeo
The Big Bend Ranch Rodeo is a sanctioned competition with the Working Ranch Cowboys Association, and includes events showcasing the skills used by working cowboys every day.
Here is more directly from the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo:
Ranch Rodeo cowboys make their living everyday working as cattle producers. We feel there is nothing better than “riding for the brand” (the ranch one is employed by). The working ranch cowboy is a very loyal, gritty individual, with the survival skills to adjust to the extreme hazards that come with the occupation.
A pro rodeo cowboy may have grown up on a ranch or might even live on one now—but he makes his living rodeoing, not ranching.
In 1995, a group of people from across the western United States created the Working Ranch Cowboys Association. It exists to celebrate and preserve the working ranch cowboy lifestyle and the WRCA sanctioned rodeos exist to give these cowboys a forum to show off their skills. The champions of each sanctioned rodeo earn an automatic bid to the WRCA produced World Champion Ranch Rodeo that is a means to showcase the skills of the working ranch cowboy and to raise funds for the WRCA Foundation.
The Big Bend Ranch Rodeo (BBRR) is committed to preserving western heritage by demonstrating the skills of daily ranch work in a positive and cultural atmosphere. All proceeds from the rodeo and related weekend activities are given to Sul Ross State University (SRSU) through scholarships and gifts designated for students in the university rodeo program. Over the past 24 years the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo has raised more than $325,000 for this program.