Rodeo by the numbers: what makes the Kindersley Indoor Rodeo tick

By Your Southwest Media Group

The Kindersley Indoor Rodeo is sanctioned by the Canadian Cowboys Association, the largest semi-pro rodeo association in Canada. Here's what's behind the dirt and the noise.

1963

The CCA was founded in 1963 with 60 members and 15 sanctioned rodeos. The very first one ran in Lancer, Saskatchewan, with a $5 entry fee and a $200 total purse. The association is now headquartered in Regina and sanctions more than 60 rodeos a year across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

250,000

More than 250,000 fans show up to CCA-sanctioned rodeos and the CCA Finals each season. The CCA Finals are held every October.

8

Eight seconds is the bar in rough stock. Bareback riding, saddle bronc and bull riding all require the rider to last eight seconds with one hand on the rigging. The free hand can't touch the animal or the equipment. Grab the rope with both hands before the buzzer and the ride doesn't count.

100

Scores are out of 100 points. Half goes to the rider and half goes to the animal. A flat-bucking bull or a lazy bronc caps the score no matter how clean the ride. Only one bull ride in rodeo history has ever scored a perfect 100. Wade Leslie pulled it off in 1991 on a bull called Wolfman Skoal.

.000

Timed events run on a different clock. Barrel racing, steer wrestling, tie-down roping and team roping are measured to the hundredth of a second. The calf or steer gets a head start defined by a rope barrier. Break the barrier early and the rider gets a ten-second penalty added to the run. Knock over a barrel in barrel racing and it's five seconds.

A modern bucking bronc is not a wild horse. They're bred for the job, and a proven one can sell for $8,000 to $10,000.

$$$

The word "rodeo" comes from the Spanish rodear, meaning "to surround." Cowboy competitions in North America were called frontier days, stampedes and cowboy contests until the 1920s. The term "rodeo" didn't go fully professional until 1945.

The CCA has been a stepping stone for many Canadian Finals Rodeo and National Finals Rodeo champions. The next generation of pros often gets their start at events like the one in Kindersley.