To qualify, a competitor must compete in one of the 12 PRCA U.S. regional circuits; Montana, Mountain States, Wilderness, Columbia River, California, Turquoise, Texas, Prairie, Badlands, Great Lakes, Southeast, and First Frontier.
[3] In 2021, the NCFR returned to Kissimmee, Florida, and was held during its normal run in the springtime, but consisted of a limited and socially distanced crowd due to the ongoing pandemic.
Rodeo contestants compete in a series of events co-sectioned by the PRCA and FMR called the PRCA-FMR Tour.
It has a year-end finals event and the tour champions from the previous calendar year competed at the NCFR beginning in 2017.
[4][5] In 2024, the PRCA and Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo signed a seven-year contract extension to keep the NFR open in Colorado Springs.