Park City, Kan.: (July 28, 2010) – The Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo has a new home.
The annual championship rodeo for the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association members in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma will be held at Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kan. This year’s rodeo will take place October 29 and 30, with a performance Friday evening and two performances on Saturday.
This is not the first year the circuit finals have been held in Wichita. “The very first circuit finals was held at the Kansas Coliseum,” said circuit president Bronc Rumford. “Basically, the finals are moving back home to where they originated.”
Rumford is enthusiastic about the move. “The Hartman Arena is a beautiful complex, and we’re really pleased. The staff is super to work with.”
The Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo is the regional championship, where the top twelve cowboys in each rodeo event: bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, and bull riding, and cowgirls in the barrel racing, qualify to compete to earn a berth to the National Circuit Finals, held annually in Pocatello, Idaho.
Past rodeo history in Wichita is indicative of the future, Rumford believes. “We have all the ingredients to be successful. I think it will build and work into a good home,” Rumford said. “I know it can work here, because it has worked here” in the past.
Prior to Wichita, the rodeo was held in conjunction with the American Royal at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.
