Cowboys from all over the United States and Canada descended on Las Vegas in December for the “Super Bowl of Rodeos” — the National Finals Rodeo. This is the premiere event in the PRCA. The NFR featured the top 15 competitors in seven different events: bull riding, bareback riding, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing.

National Finals Rodeo Shopping Heaven

The Cowboy Christmas Gift Show, the longest running and ONLY “Original” gift show of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, returned to Las Vegas with more wares to keep even the most avid shopper entertained all ten days. Conveniently located in the North Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, at Paradise Road and Desert Inn, just one block east of the famous Las Vegas Strip, this year’s show exceeded expectations. Over 300,000 square feet of show floor hosting 400 plus vendors from across the United States and Canada showcased their unique products which include: customized jewelry, western wear, boots and spurs, furniture, original art, handmade crafts and pottery, as well as providing the best source for the Official Wrangler NFR and PRCA merchandise. With free shuttle service from the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show directly to the Thomas & Mack Center for each night’s rodeo performance, what more could you ask for? So plan ahead to 2010 and wear your comfortable boots, as this western-themed shopping experience is like no other!

NFR History

Even though the sport of rodeo has been around almost forever, the National Finals Rodeo, or NFR as it is commonly called, has a much more recent history. The first National Finals Rodeo was held at the Dallas State Fair Grounds in 1959, and since then, the NFR has gone through many interesting changes including a name change in 2001 to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Said to have been the brain-child of South Dakota legend Casey Tibbs, the idea behind the first ever National Finals Rodeo was to bring together the bets rodeo athletes and the toughest livestock in the world. Many now-famous cowboys competed at that first NFR including Tibbs, Jim Shoulders, Jim Bynum, Jack Buschbom and Dean Oliver. No one quite knew what to expect but hoped for the best since this was the first ever world championship of rodeo. The cowboys who entered competed for the first NFR purse of $50,000!

Shoulders, still considered the most successful cowboy ever with 16 world titles, placed in six bull riding rounds in 1959, walking away with the NFR prize money and the world championships. In 1979, Jim Shoulders was honored in the inaugural class of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Placing sixth in the rankings, Tibbs rode in his final saddle bronc riding world championship during that 1959 National Finals Rodeo. Today Tibbs is remembered as the first cowboy to capture the hearts and attention of the media. Tibbs was also inducted into the Hall of Fame, with the additional honor of being depicted in the museum’s signature statue — a 20-footer of Tibbs riding a bronc named Necktie.

Jack Buschbom won in the first round of the 1959 National Finals Rodeo’s bareback riding and continued on to claim the NFR average crown and world title. Twenty years later, he, too, was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

For many years the NFR flourished, spending a few years in Los Angeles and then another 20 years in Oklahoma City. Cowboys still worked toward what became known as “the Last Rodeo,” but the media attention and purses did not really grow until the NFR moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985. The NFR always appealed to those cowboy athletes as a culmination of that year’s hard work. With the move to Las Vegas, the appeal doubled — in the form of a total of $1.8 million in prize money.

Wire Works and the NFR

Wire Works Custom Jewelry has been a major vendor at the NFR since the early 1970’s when the show was hosted in Oklahoma City. The business has expanded from one location to two separate spots, one on each side of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The traffic is awesome and at times there are so many people that a single booth gets overlooked, so we added the second location about 5 years ago. Our store offers custom and personalized jewelry items including: necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, gemstone pendants and gemstone bracelets. The main stay of the business has always been Custom Cattle and Ranch Brands that are designed on the spot. The prices are affordable and the service in exceptional.

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