A Brief History...

The National High School Rodeo Association had its beginning as a state rodeo in Halletsville, Texas, in 1947, and was organized as the National Championship High School Rodeo Association. Claude Mullins, Alton Allen, and Leon Kahanek fathered the idea, and Texas' first state rodeo was held in June of 1947 with 100 contestants participating. The following year New Mexico had a similar rodeo; in 1949, Louisiana, Montana and South Dakota also held state rodeos.

The first National Championship Rodeo was held in Halletsville, Texas, in 1949, with the state champions competing. In 1951, the organization of a national association was completed with the following charter member states: Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Montana and South Dakota.
The National Championship High School Rodeo Association was incorporated in May 1961 as a non-profit, South Dakota Corporation to be known as the National High School Rodeo Association. In that year, 287 contestants from 20 states competed at the National Championship Rodeo held in Douglas, Wyoming.
Currently, the NHSRA boasts some 12,000 members from 40 states, five Canadian provinces and Australia (NSRA). The National High School Finals Rodeo is held annually and rotates every two years from among chosen sites.

In Australia...

The Australian association was formed in 2000. Known as the National Student Rodeo Association (NSRA) it is the only affiliated and officially recognised member of the USA parent organisation the NHSRA. Although still relatively small and in places even unknown it is slowly growing in prominence as the premier youth rodeo organisation in Australia today.

Leadership and Learning

The NSRA recognize that rodeo must not hinder a student's schoolwork. The whole idea behind the first High School Rodeo was to encourage rural-oriented youth to stay in school and complete their studies. A beneficial planned side effect was the emphasis  placed on providing scholarship assistance to these youth who, in many cases, had no where else to turn for education tuition money.

Education plays an important part in the total NSRA program and in order to gain the confidence of schools around the country, the association requires high student academic standards. The NSRA also requires members to conduct themselves in an exemplary manner, requires students to abide by a strict dress code when competing and requires contestants to "play by the rules". Leadership and responsibility are also stressed to the members. Because most of them have one or more animals to care for, they have already learned that their other interests may take a back seat to responsibility.

In addition to that sort of personal responsibility, is the opportunity for students to serve as national officers, as voting delegates to the National student elections and as event directors on the national level where they are required to work with adult advisors to insure proper conduct and fair competition in Student Rodeo.

The opportunity to win honours abound at both the Australian and USA level. For those whose athletic talent carries them into the top ten in the USA, there are even greater rewards including trophy saddles, gold and silver buckles, plaques and college scholarships. NSRA senior qualifiers also have the opportunity to obtain scholarship assistance base on need, desire to attend university and their stated goals and objectives - all determined in front of a scholarship screening committee and not in the rodeo arena.

The truly impressive aspect of the NSRA is the quality of character and dedication of both the student members and the adult advisors. The long hours of practice, serious competition and the friendships developed as well as the examples set by dedicated adults and involved corporate sponsors, give direction and meaning for the future of one of the most impressive groups of teenagers in the world - our teenagers.