W O R L D ’ S
O L D E S T
R O D E O ®
WildGOHorse Racing EXTREME!
Photo by Blushing Cactus Photography
Wild horse racing became a part of the Prescott Frontier Days® Celebration in 1913 as part of the first Cowboy Contest to be held at the present site. The first race consisted of five to eight teams of three men catching, saddling the wild horse, and racing around the half-mile track to determine the winner. The wild horse race was stopped in 1950 due to the traveling expense of the teams across the U.S. In 1972, with the arrival of Harry Vold and his top rated rodeo stock company, wild horse racing became the opening event once more at the World’s Oldest Rodeo®. Today, the show is pretty much as it was in 1913 within arena space limitations. The teams consist of three key players. A shankman, a mugger, and a rider. The unpredictable sport often leaves spectators mesmerized by an arena filled with wild horses and cowboys running about. The object of this Buckaroo Brilliance is simple 52 WORLD’S OLDEST RODEO® • 1888-2022
— contain a 1,200 pound unbroken bucking horse with nothing but a lead shank and halter. Bring him to a stop, control the animal’s actions, cinch down a saddle and buck him to the finish line. This must be performed while other teams are trying to accomplish the identical task at the same time and all in less than two minutes. Does the expression Wild Wild West come to mind? Over the past 100 years, the event of three-man bronc riding has been refined, and the sport has evolved into more than just a tradition, but one of the most challenging and competitive events in professional rodeo. As with many sports, cowboys are always looking to up the ante... Just as the sport of MotorCross introduced us to the “X-Games,” television reality show competitions brought us “Xtreme Fear Factor,” and even the PRCA has introduced Extreme Bulls. In 2012, a group of professional cowboys decided to take rodeo to the next level with the introduction of Xtreme Bronc Riding.
