courtesy PRCA
ProRodeo being back in action Memorial Day weekend for competition is one of the topics PRCA CEO George Taylor discussed with The Cowboy Channel in an interview Saturday.
Taylor talked about COVID-19 pandemic ground rules that will have to be followed when PRCA rodeos return.
“We’re going to have to really take that responsibility seriously as we begin to rodeo again, so that nobody stops us, even though we are frustrated with a lot of those things,” he said. “It’s really going to be about where we use masks, how we disinfect, how we compartmentalize different production personnel and really strive to keep ourselves safe so that we don’t have any COVID instances as a result. Probably one of the biggest things is we will have to screen our contestants at Cave Creek as we get ready to go there.”
Cave Creek (Ariz.) Rodeo Days is May 22-24 and will air live at 10:30 p.m. (ET) each night on The Cowboy Channel. Fans will not be permitted at the rodeo.
Moving forward, fans are expected to be able to attend rodeos at Woodward (Okla.) Elks Rodeo (June 10-13) and Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove Utah (June 17-20).
“Relative to the rodeos we expect to have fans, they will be at reduced capacity, those rodeos (Woodward, Okla., and Pleasant Grove, Utah), in addition to Springfield (Mo., May 29-30), have been given some initial approval to have fans, which really changes the experience for the contestants and everybody watching on television, so it will be a great addition,” Taylor said.
RodeoHouston was canceled before completion because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the PRCA is going to complete the rodeo with the Finishing Super Series Rodeos, May 29-31, in Fort Worth, Texas.
“This will not be the RodeoHouston we all know and love, but we will really be finishing up the Super Series from RodeoHouston, which is about seven performances,” Taylor said. “We’re going to broadcast that on The Cowboy Channel, obviously, and we are going to do it from Fort Worth, which is a little bit different, RodeoHouston from Fort Worth. So, we’re excited about that, and we have had great support from the mayor’s office in Fort Worth. It will be right in the backyard of Rural Media Group.”
Taylor also spoke about the numerous payouts remaining in the season.
“The most exciting thing I can tell you is while it seems like we’ve missed a lot of rodeos, we still have about 90% of the payouts left in the season,” Taylor said. “So, while we have had 137 rodeos canceled, we have a lot on the board, and we have 50 to 55 in June that are currently scheduled and 100 on the schedule for July. That time that we are coming up to is really important and as we’re looking at this, a lot of the contestants are asking if we need to extend the season? What are we going to do about rodeo counts and all that type of stuff. Because of the numbers I just said, we’re going to wait no later than July 1 before we can tell everybody what we are planning to do for the full year.”
