By Ted Harbin | Photo Credit Ric Andersen Photos

Nearly 1,000 contestants had already competed days before last Friday’s opening performance of the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.

It’s an extensive change in workload for all involved, with contractors, contestants, arena workers and stock show staff spending numerous hours over four days to help run 958 cowboys and cowgirls through their preliminary rounds.

It’s a distinct format change for the longstanding rodeo, which will be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame this summer. For several years, San Angelo timed events featured two go-rounds, with the top 12 advancing to the championship round on the final Friday of the three-week event. Barrel racing was the outlier, with all ladies making a first-round run; the top performers advanced to the progressive round, and the best 12 cumulative times advanced to the short round.

While barrel racers will remain in that format – and breakaway ropers adjusting to the same schedule – the men’s events switched to a two-round progressive, with the top times advancing to the nine preliminary performances.

“San Angelo has always been a very timed event-friendly town, and we, as a rodeo, have prided ourselves on that,” said Josh Hilton, the rodeo manager for the stock show association. “We’re a community of 100,000 people going up against communities of millions, and we’re trying to attract contestants to town.”

He’s referring to other Texas stops like Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston, which features larger populations and have rodeos that are payoff powerhouses. Still, San Angelo adds $45,000 per event. With entry fees, each of the timed events will have a purse greater than $70,000. Changing the format has opened the doors for as many, if not more, contestants to be part of the West Texas rodeo, which has been in existence since 1934.

“We want to have a purse of over $1 million,” Hilton said. “It’s something we can hang our hat on that we do for the contestants. Another major factor is the fairness of it, especially with how hard it is to get cattle. The last few years, at least nine of the 12 guys in the tie-down roping short round came out of slack.

“The way I see it, it’s a fairer circumstance to the contestants that we do it this way.”

That $1 million mark is a stress point for the rodeo’s organizers. A year ago, San Angelo paid out more than $1.43 million. But there’s more to it.

While the aggregate still comes into play with the final-round qualifiers and the rodeo’s titlists, the new format will be easier for fans to follow, whether they’re in person or watching on The Cowboy Channel.

It’s better for the rodeo and better for all who experience the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.