Barnes PRCA Rodeo was started by Bob Barnes in 1950,and was a member of the Rodeo Cowboys Association from that day forward. He was a member of the US Marine Corp., and served in Korea. He went on to also serve on the PRCA Board of Directors, the National Finals Rodeo Committee, and numerous other boards and committees.
"Portable" chutes in the early days involved taking wire and gates off, pulling wood post out of the ground, resetting them at the new location, then reattaching wire and gates.
This was the mainstay of the transportation fleet in 1950. 350 miles from the ranch was, at that time, the farthest distance traveled. Today the fleet has grown, as well as distance traveled, covering 18 states with the farthest rodeo being 1500 miles from home.
This was home throughout the 1950's. In 1958 Bob married Donita, they started their family, and subsequently the growth of Barnes Rodeo.
Seventy years ago, Barnes PRCA Rodeo was founded with the guiding principles of integrity and hard work by Bob and Donita Barnes. The late Bob Barnes was known as "the Colonel"," and today is still one of the most respected stockman in professional rodeo. He was selected as the 1984 PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year and inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame ten years later in 1994. Donita Barnes was posthumously awarded the inaugural PRCA Lifetime Achievement Award for contract personnel at the PRCA award banquet in 2011. The PRCA Lifetime Achievement Award was renamed in her honor in 2012.
