At the end of a long rodeo career, it’s the memories that competitors will cherish and hold close to their hearts, but some of the sweet prizes they’ve picked up along the way are pretty special, too. The rodeo trail is littered with beautiful buckles, saddles, and bronzes that are representations of our western heritage.

But in 2017 we wanted to look at the prizes that are just a little different, a little bigger, and sometimes a little quirky.

Days Of ’47 Cowboy Games And Rodeo: Medals

At an event that the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association named the Most Innovative Rodeo Of The Year, you’d expect nothing less than a prize that stands out. The inaugural Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo had an Olympic-style format, complete with podiums and custom-made gold, silver, and bronze medals to hang from the necks of only the best competitors that performed in the brand-new arena.

Keeping with the Olympic theme, several “trial” events were held as qualifiers for the rodeo. Contestants also qualified by being within the top 10 in the overall PRCA standings, and leading a circuit or rookie standings race, along with many other ways to qualify.

The American: $1 Million Bonus Prize

The American is an event that is full of David and Goliath storylines, inviting the best rodeo athletes in the world and allowing practically anyone to take a shot at qualifying to compete against them. As a bonus, those qualifiers are eligible for the $1,000,000 prize available only to those that can beat the competitors that are most likely their greatest heroes.

In 2017, the American Semi-Finals at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, was also a $1,000,000 rodeo in itself.

Salinas: Coveted Buckle

It’s arguably the most coveted regular season buckle you can win in the PRCA, with rodeo competitors choosing to wear it on their belt for years after they hang up their hats. The Gist Silversmiths buckle — said to be worth about $3,000 — is one that many competitors chase their whole rodeo careers in the hopes of having one to call their own.

The gold and silver buckle design has remained the same for many years at the largest rodeo in California, and Salinas draws some of the best to compete for it as one of the PRCA’s top 20 paying events.

WNFR: Barrel Racing Prize Line

Before a WNFR qualifying barrel racer ever makes her first of 10 trips down the alley at the Thomas & Mack Center, she is showered with prizes from the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and sponsors. It is said that veteran WNFR qualifiers advise the “newbies” to make sure they leave an extra stall open in their trailer just to haul it all home.

Just some of the awards that all 15 competitors received in 2017 include: Yeti coolers, trailer tires, custom Justin Boots, Charlie 1 Horse hats, Montana Silversmith’s spurs, and a horse sheet with their picture on it. To top it off, the WPRA also pulls together 15 saddle makers and sponsors to give each qualifier a custom saddle; each barrel racer draws from a hat to determine the saddle she will receive.

Oldstoberfest: Beer Steins 

You could call the world’s first Bavarian-themed rodeo a little quirky to say the least; it’s complete with lederhosen, beer slinging maidens at the authentic Biergarten, an Oompah band, and they start it all off by tapping a keg. A buckle just wouldn’t do for this rodeo, so engraved beer steins were created just for the occasion.

After a year hiatus, the rodeo returned to the town of Olds, Alberta, in 2017 to ring in the fall season, and welcome the return of the college students that help the town go round with a concert and big party.