More than 350 rodeos are held around Australia each year with the state of Queensland regarded as ‘The home of rodeo'. Australian rodeos can attract up to 30,000 spectators and some competitions offer up to$200,000 in prize money.
The professional rodeo circuit spans many countries far a field such as Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and The United States with prize money as high as $2 million dollars. Eight seconds is the minimum time a rider needs to stay on the back of a bareback bronco or bull. If he attains the eight seconds he receives a score out of 100, if he falls off or is thrown he will score zero.
The first recorded Australian rodeo was held in Queensland in 1897. It can be traced back to the Spanish in North America where the cowboys known as "Yaqueros" evolved ranch chores into rodeo forms of bronco riding, roping and tie downing. Rodeo's popularity grew with the expansion of the western frontier which allowed the cowboys to travel around the country-side and earn a living. Along with its growth of popularity so did the professionalism that is exhibited today, with rules to standardize all events. It was around 1945 that the Rodeo Cowboy Association introduced the belt buckle as the ultimate trophy probably due to the fact that many of the cowboys also did exhibition-boxing matches as a way to earn money.
