First of all, Marie, all rodeo contestants, no matter which event they are in, know, and their families know, just how dangerous rodeo competition can be. Same as NFR, PGA (just ask Tiger Woods about his post injuries), MLB, etc. That 50k purse, plus other money won to get to the Finals, is just for one major rodeo of the year and there are numerous more rodeos that pay a high purse. Training and suffering is just part of any sport. As far as medical goes, Justin Sports Medicine is at rodeos and take care of any injuries that happen. The cowboy/cowgirls don't pay a thing. I'm talking about actual doctors. If a rodeo cowboy has to go local hospital for evaluation and/or surgery, and later rehab for an injury, Workman's Compensation Insurance will pay for all of that. Cowboys/cowgirls are well taken care of when it comes to medical.
IOW, Marie, sponsors and tv advertising pays quite a bit of a rodeo cowboy's/cowgirl's expenses going down the road to various PRCA rodeos. There is only a certain amount of cowboys/cowgirls that rodeo on a "full-time" level. For those that do make it to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, all of their food, hotel rooms, etc. are paid for by the sponsoring hotel. Each NFR contestant automatically gets a rather large sum of money for making it to the NFR. This is before competition even starts.
"Going down the road" can be/is a hard life, but that's the life that is chosen. Many rodeo cowboys/cowgirls had relatives that done rodeo and it turns into a "family tradition", just like ranching does.
