2008 Rodeo Fun Facts

• The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo was selected for the third year in a row as  the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year! (2005, 2006, 2007)
• The rodeo was also honored to be selected as an inductee to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado!
• The rodeo had great attendance in the AT&T center that included thirteen sell-out performances (attendance of 14,000 and above)
• The San Antonio rodeo once again proved to be on the leading edge of the sport by being the first rodeo to pay the entry fees for the rodeo contestants.  This was made possible by implementing a new ticket program called the "Rodeo Star Experience".  These VIP rodeo ticket sales were very successful, generating revenues exceeding what was necessary to pay the fees!
• San Antonio continues to bring only the best animal athletes (from North America's top 22 stock contractors) and the top professional rodeo contestants to create an experience rivaled only by the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
• Total purse for the PRCA Rodeo totaled $1-million, making the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo one of the top 3 richest rodeos in the nation
• For the third time, this year's rodeo featured two Xtreme Bull performances, both of which were televised on ESPN and ESPN2. 

2008 Stats for Food And Beverages sold in the AT&T Center 

• Fountain Soda - 10,065 Gallons
• Bottled Soda - 1,686 Gallons
• Total Soda - 11,751 Gallons or 94,006 (16 oz) Bottles
• Jumbo Hot Dogs - 11,270
• Foot Long Hot Dogs - 4,494
• Nachos - 19,338
• Popcorn -  10,376
• Peanuts - 11,199

2008 Livestock Show Fun Facts

• The San Antonio Livestock & Horse Show Departments  had a combined total of over 30,000 entries
• 252 out of 254 counties were represented at the 2008 Junior Livestock Show
• World's Largest Junior Livestock Show
• The Junior Livestock Auction broke records again this year, with an auction total of $3,610,612, with record-setting Champions in four out of five auction categories.
• Trailers parked in Stockman's Lot:
  Total Trailers Parked - 3,761
  Largest Number of Trailers Parked on a Single Day - 105 on Thurs, Feb 19, 2004
• Calf Scramble Fact:
  If each calf scramble participant ran just one lap during the calf scramble, the total # of miles run would be 85.6 miles.
• Over 30,000 entries in the Livestock and Horse Shows - combinedThe Junior Dairy Show had a 90% increase in entries & the dairy parlor had a 40% increase in ice cream product sales!
• The Ag Mechanic competition continues to be a popular event with over 644 entries in 2008
• The Commercial Steer Show had a 100% increase in the number of exhibitors
• In their second year, the Ag Science Fair and The Wildlife Judging Contest showed an increase; both events were very successful with over 65 entries in each category.
• The Premium Whitetail Deer Auction grossed sales in excess of $1,165,050!
  

2008 Horse Show Fun Facts

• Over 9,000 horse shoes walked through the horse barns and arenas.
• The weight of all the horses shown would equal more than 20 semi-trucks with trailers.
• If all the stalls used during the horse shows were stacked on top of each other, it would be twice as tall as The Tower of the Americas.
• If you laid all the horses in the shows down, hooves to withers, they would make 5 ½ straight lines on Freeman Blvd.
• The number of trucks pulling horse trailers admitted onto the grounds would create a line over 11 miles long!
• Record high for number of teams in Team Penning- 721 teams entered, 125% increase from 2007
• Top selling Select Sale horse sold for $50,000, 108% higher than last year 
• NCHA Cutting had an all time high for number of entries with 435 entries
• Barrel Racing entries increased 54% with 869 entries
• Paint Horse Show entries were up by 18% with a total of 1,298 entriesDonkey & Mule Show had 470 entries, a 10% rise in entries
• First annual South Texas Ranch Rodeo Finals were held on the last day of the event

Commercial Exhibits Fun Facts

• Commercial Exhibits and Family Fair use over 10,000 linear feet of decorative drape each year.
• The carnival used over 2 miles of electric cable wire to power the carnival in 2004.
• If you count all over-the-road vehicles, including the trailers to house the carnival staff, and line the vehicles up end to end, the distance would be 1.5 miles of vehicles brought to San Antonio to produce the 2004 carnival.
• The most popular ride in 2005 was the Megadrop.

2008 General Stats

• Final attendance for the 58th Annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo numbered 1,300,513.
• Attendance for the 2008 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo totaled 1,300,513 - including 8 record breaking days!
• The Western Art Auction had sales of $248,870 which will be distributed in the form of scholarships awarded to the student artists. This represents a 39% increase over 2007.
• Over $1,526,000 in scholarships were committed to Livestock and Horseshow exhibitors during this year's show.
•  Number of sponsors increased 10% compared to 2007.
• Wade Shows, the carnival provider, had their best year ever, increasing revenues by an estimated 27% over 2007.
• In 2008 a record $8.5 million was committed, since the inception of the Scholarship Fund in 1984 S.A.L.E. has given over $87 million in the form of scholarships, grants, endowments, auctions, a calf scramble program and show premiums paid to the youth in the state of Texas.