Calgary Stampede Adding Team Roping, Set to Become PRCA Rodeo in 2020

For the first time since the Calgary Stampede's first rodeo in 1912, the event will add team roping to its competition, helping to fill its qualification to officially become a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event. In the team roping, Calgary will invite the top 25 in the PRCA world standings—as of May 11, 2020—to compete for $35,000 per side in added money, with entry fees at $500 per man, PRCA team roping event director Matt Sherwood said. The top 5 in the Canadian standings from 2019 will also be invited for a total of 30 teams, pushing the payout to $50,000 per side, Sherwood said. The team roping will not be part of Calgary's rodeo performance. The committee will host the roping on July 7 after the rodeo's regular performance, with two rounds and a short round, Sherwood said. Team ropers will compete at the Nutrien Western Events Centre—an indoor arena on the same grounds as the Stampede's large outdoor arena that hosts the rodeo itself, according to PRCA spokesman Scott Kaniewski in an email March 3. "It's great for us," Sherwood, a two-time world champion who happens to be the reigning Canadian champion header, said. "As more Canadian guys do well in the U.S., that helps the sport grow in Canada. With Jeremy (Buhler)and Levi (Simpson) winning the world in 2016, and Kolton Schmidt having done so well, that brings more recognition to the team roping in Canada."...MORE