USTRC

The United States Team Roping Championships (USTRC) was founded in 1989, launching its first National Finals at the Lazy E Arena in Oklahoma in 1990 — a bold bet at the time on a national handicapped championship that would ask thousands of ropers across every state to compete under one classification system for higher entry fees than the sport had seen before. That first National Finals paid out $185,000 and drew ropers from 16 states, proof the concept could work; nearly four decades later, USTRC has grown into one of the world's leading team roping membership organizations and one of the largest single-discipline equine groups in the country, running over 100 national qualifying events, regional finals, and a National Finals each year. The organization is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and today operates as a for-profit organization under parent company Equine Network.

USTRC's classification system — which pairs ropers of similar skill levels against each other — has long been central to its identity, historically powered by the TRIAD Classification Agency, proprietary software built to collect and tabulate performance data in real time. In 2017, Active Interest Media acquired both USTRC and TRIAD, at the time separating the two so TRIAD could serve as an independent handicapping authority across the industry; combined with the World Series of Team Roping's roughly 140 qualifying events and Las Vegas Finale, the acquisition brought together what the companies described as the two dominant event franchises in team roping, together representing over 80% of the market. USTRC's National Finals has moved venues over the years — it shifted to a spring schedule in Fort Worth at Will Rogers Memorial Center after outgrowing available dates at the Lazy E — and is now set to return full circle to the Lazy E Arena beginning in May 2027, under current USTRC president John Johnson, marking a 37-year connection between the organization and the arena where it all began.