Many of you have been asking if The Rodeo Round Up has been able to find out anything new regarding where the lawsuit between the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) and the Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) organizations stands.  While in Las Vegas for the last two weeks I was able to talk with my other media connections as well as some of the athletes involved in the ERA to find out that answer for each and every one of you.  I dug as best as I could while still being respectful of the WNFR that was currently going on during that time frame.

What I found out, not only about the lawsuit, was quite eye-opening and made me step back and realize that there is much more behind the scenes issues going on.  Even though the main focus is on the current lawsuit situation between these two organizations what happens will trickle down to those contestants involved in both factions as well.  There are some tense cowboys and cowgirls that are watching very closely what will be a dramatic effect on who will be in or out of the ERA once the judgement is ruled.

It was announced that there was a change in the date that pertains to the preliminary injunction so that a judgement could be ruled upon prior to the busy start of the 2016 professional rodeo season run.  The date has been moved up to a December 29th date that will allow a ruling to come within 30 days from the court date itself.  With that being said, as many of you know, that is after the start to at least two major events held early in the season.

There are two major events that the contestants of the ERA would like to join in on if the ruling goes their way, The Denver Stock Show and Rodeo as well as the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo, as well as many other events.  The PRCA and the ERA have come to an agreement that would still allow the members of the ERA to call in to compete at rodeos in the 2016 season pending the judgement from the December 29th court date.

Now even though the PRCA is allowing these contestants to call in for these rodeos that does not mean that these rodeo stars will be allowed to show up to compete.  This all depends on the final outcome and ruling from the court date.  This means that these rodeo committees and fans are waiting to see if the members of the ERA that are scheduled to compete will be allowed to.  Quite simply if the PRCA wins the judgement that means that those contestants that are part of the ERA will not be allowed to participate and if the ERA wins the judgement they will be allowed to participate in the PRCA season for 2016.

I was able to talk to some of the rodeo contestants that are directly involved in the ERA and have gotten many different views on this situation.  I will not be naming specific contestants to protect their identity until they give me the okay to name them individually.  With that being said, there are some contestants that have not participated in PRCA rodeos in quite some time that are 100% behind everything the ERA is doing and stands for.  These old school cowboys just want to put the money where they think it is deserved and have more say in day to day operations.

On the other side of things, some of the current members of the PRCA and founding members of the ERA who own stock in the organization have some immediate concerns.  Once again, without naming names, they voice their concern about the current happenings and how the ERA is handling things on their end.  These folks are waiting anxiously to see what the outcome will be to make any hasty decisions that will affect their careers as rodeo contestants.  Depending on what happens you will see some shareholders pulling out of the ERA to protect their rodeo careers and continue to participate in PRCA sanctioned events.

I like to keep my reporting on as neutral of a basis as I can in a professional manner and that is what I plan on doing here as well.  I will report on the information that is given to me by each side and will lay it out so it is as easy to understand as possible.  In my opinion, everything weighs on how the ruling will come down from the December 29th court date.  This will either make or break this stalemate and will ultimately decide where contestants, contractors, sponsors and fans will place their loyalties.

I have established many personal connections on both sides of this issue and will continue to support each organization and whatever may come of the situation.  As you can well imagine, there will be some turmoil and conflict but everyone will have their own reasons behind their decisions.  I do think that both organizations can flourish and be fantastic for the sport of professional rodeo.  For that to happen there must be a mutual respect and acknowledgement of the caliber of the athletes in each of the two factions.  I hope that this will end in a peaceful manner and everyone can get back to competing for their share of the well-deserved money that is awaiting each of these great athletes!

It is quite easy to follow all the breaking news and excitement with the Rodeo Round Up simply by copying this website into your favorites in your web browser for easy one-click access to event statistics. You can also like and follow us on Facebook here, or by liking and following us on Instagram and/or Twitter at @therodeoroundup. Jason has also made it easy for you to be a part of his interviews by opening up a listener comment line. If you have a question for a certain rodeo star simply call in and leave your name, where you are from, who the question is for and what your question is and he will do his best to get it answered for you during his interviews!

As the news of the Elite Rodeo Athletes rodeo organization announcing that tickets were available for purchase for the inaugural World Championship Series many more questions started arising among the rodeo fan base and the community itself.  As of today all of us at The Rodeo Round Up have been getting emails, phone calls, text messages and social media comments regarding this entire situation.  There are still more questions than answers and I want to take a minute and share my take and on all those questions that are coming from all of our loyal listeners and followers.

Like I said earlier the loyal professional rodeo fans have many questions that are still remaining unanswered from the Elite Rodeo Athletes head office.  I will list many of them below and share my take and my feelings on some very important concerns that remain among rodeo fans.  Since this is such an uprising and controversial topic I will also share my personal thoughts through a video blog post which you will also be able to find posted during the WNFR at some point as answers come to light.  I encourage each and every one of you to call our website number and leave your comments, questions and/or thoughts on this subject as well.  We are very interested in hearing what these concerns are doing to your thought process regarding the ERA organization as we head into the 2015 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR)!

22-time National Finals qualifier and all around legend Joe Beaver in Alamosa CO

1. How can the ERA sell tickets to their inaugural World Championship Series without knowing where and when the events will take place throughout the year?

Many rodeo fans are very nervous to  purchase tickets for an event that they think may never take place.  I have tried to find out information about this very topic and have not received any verifiable information about the schedule but am very interested to learn if, how and when this information will be available.

2.   We are about to enter the NFR with many of the people who have announced they will compete  in the ERA.  That being said fans have been waiting too long to know when will there be an ERA contest, in turn, how will this affect the ERA as an organization?

My thoughts on this are that the ERA organization and the contestants vowing to compete in it know much more than we do heading into the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.  I don’t think that the ERA would go in to such a big event for their superstars having such an unknown question that would have such a heavy impact on their athletes.

 3.   If these questions are not answered by the start of the NFR will the ERA’s supporters cry foul and walk away?

I personally do not think that the rodeo fans will have to wait and wonder for the entire length of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for answers.  Every year the PRCA Commissioner holds a press conference and these contestants and staff of the ERA know that as well.  The ERA knows much more than they are leading everyone to believe and want to make an impact and draw attention away from this year’s WNFR.

4.   Will the ERA organization still be able to be successful if they keep dragging their feet on this.   Especially going into the NFR? 

 I , much like all of you, have been frustrated and confused about the ERA seemingly not knowing what was going on.  The more we all sit back and think about it it makes since that the timing of all the important information is revealed at a precise moment that will make the biggest impact that it can during one of the biggest rodeo events of the year.

My video blog, which will be posted at some point during the WNFR coverage once answers start to come in, will go into even more detail than I talked about on this post.  I dig deeper into the questions and expand on my thoughts and insights regarding the entire ERA issue going all the way back to its conception.  I hope that you will listen to my thoughts and after researching your concerns and questions for yourselves come to your own conclusions and thoughts on this entire story line.  Like I said earlier I would ask you to all call into the Rodeo Round Up listener line and share your thoughts and insights so we can bring you all a future follow-up story.  We would love to include some of your comments in future posts regarding the ERA and everything that has been involved since the announcement of its formation!

 It is quite easy to follow all the breaking news and excitement with the Rodeo Round Up simply by copying this website into your favorites in your web browser for easy one-click access to event statistics. You can also like and follow us on facebook here, or by liking and following us on Instagram and/or Twitter at @therodeoroundup. Jason has also made it easy for you to be a part of his interviews by opening up a listener comment line. If you have a question for a certain rodeo star simply call in and leave your name, where you are from, who the question is for and what your question is and he will do his best to get it answered for you during his interviews!

 Photo Credit: AVID Visual Imagery