The word 'rodeo' was borrowed from the Spanish cowboys or vaqueros. Rodeo is a form of the verb 'rodear', which means 'to surround' or 'round-up'. The word was used to describe the act of gathering cattle before a cattle drive.

Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico.

• Today it is a sporting event that consists of events that involve horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the human cowboy and cowgirl athletes who participate. • Professional rodeos generally comprise the following events: Tie-down roping, Team Roping, Steer wrestling, Saddle bronc riding, Bareback Bronc-Riding, Bull riding and Barrel racing. • The events are divided into two basic categories: the rough stock events and the timed events. Depending on sanctioning organization and region, other events such as breakaway roping, goat tying, or pole bending may also be a part of some rodeos.

Rodeo, particularly popular today within the Canadian province of Alberta and throughout the western United States, is the official state sport of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Texas.

The iconic silhouette image of a "Bucking Horse and Rider" is a federal and state-registered trademark of the State of Wyoming.

The Legislative Assembly of Alberta has considered making rodeo the official sport of that province.

In North America, professional rodeos are governed and sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association(PRCA) and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), while other associations govern children's, high school, collegiate, and senior rodeos. Associations also exist for Native Americans and other minority groups.

The traditional season for competitive rodeo runs from spring through falland concludes with the PRCA National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada, now held in December.

Historically, women have long participated in rodeo. "Prairie Rose" Henderson debuted at the Cheyenne rodeo in 1901, and, by 1920, women were competing in rough stock events, relay races and trick riding. But after Bonnie McCarrol died in the Pendleton Round-Up in 1929 and Marie Gibson died in a horse wreck in 1933, women's competitive participation was curbed.Today, women's barrel racing is included as a competitive event in professional rodeo, with breakaway roping and goat tying added at collegiate and lower levels. They compete equally with men in team roping.