Financial Highlights

2011 Financial Highlights

• $63.6 million contributed to the production of the livestock show and rodeo
  • approximately 27,000 livestock and horse show entrants participated in the three week event
  • more than 300,000 students participated in the Show's School Art Program
• $5.0 million awarded to junior exhibitors
• $9.1 million in new scholarships awarded to Texas youth
• $1.1 million invested in the Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence
• $1.9 million granted to other educational programs

In 1931, a group of cattlemen met to discuss the improvement and development of the cattle industry along the Gulf Coast area of Texas. That initial meeting was the beginning of the success story of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting agriculture and education, providing affordable family entertainment, and preserving Western heritage.

Throughout the last 79 years, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has fulfilled its purpose, making an impressive footprint on the livestock and agriculture industries and education. Substantially all of the Show’s resources are dedicated to direct support of its agriculture and education programs, with 78 percent and 84 percent of operating revenues spent on program services in 2011 and 2010, respectively. Most importantly, the Show has played a notable role in enhancing the lives of young people in the state of Texas.

Nearly 25,000 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo volunteers donated their time and talent to help produce the world's largest livestock show, world’s largest indoor rodeo, and the Southwest's premier family entertainment event. Following are highlights from the 2011 Show.

Agriculture
In 1932, the first Show was held with just a few hundred entries in the livestock competition. Seventy-nine years later, at the 2011 Show, there were nearly 27,000 entries in the livestock and horse show. To date, the Show has hosted more than 1 million junior and open livestock and horse entries.

The annual junior and open livestock shows support our core mission to “encourage and promote the breeding, raising and marketing of better livestock and farm products.” Considered “the Show to win” by Texas youth, the learning experience goes beyond the technical aspects of raising and showing livestock to include the invaluable opportunity for these youth to develop leadership skills, public speaking abilities, and strong personal responsibility.

• Texas 4-H and FFA students from almost every county in the state of Texas travel to Houston each year, vying for the prestigious title of a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo champion. Since 1932, the Show has contributed more than $118 million to these junior and youth show exhibitors through prizes, premiums and auction money.
• Since the beginning of the calf scramble program in 1942, more than 18,000 young Texans have been awarded nearly $10 million worth of purchase certificates and bonuses.
• More than 75,000 children received a hands-on agricultural education through a school tour or field trip in Capital One Bank AGventure.
• Another educational exhibit, Fun on the Farm, enabled almost 80,000 visitors to explore the world of agriculture through the process of producing farm products - from planting to market.
• A new soil exhibit allowed visitors the chance to get up close to earthworms and learn how to plant seeds.
• Mutton Bustin’ continued to be an exciting part of each day both in Kids Country and at each performance in Reliant Stadium, where children 4 to 6 years old competed, trying to ride sheep the longest. More than 3,700 kids participated in Kids Country and 300 in Reliant Stadium.
• New to the Show in 2011, the Horticulture Program featured horticulture displays and competitions for Texas students, non-professional adult gardeners, and professional florists and landscapers. The program culminated in a Floriculture Face-off, where professional florists competed in a timed competition.
• Each of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo junior auctions brought in more than $1 million. Six of the junior auction Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion records were broken. Junior auction sales totaled $8,235,171. The prices for the top winners were (* indicates new world’s records):
  • *Grand Champion Barrow, $177,000; and *Reserve Grand Champion Barrow, $120,000
  • *Grand Champion Goat, $140,000; and Reserve Grand Champion Goat, $100,000
  • *Grand Champion Lamb, $200,000; and Reserve Grand Champion Lamb, $120,000
  • Grand Champion Pen of Broilers, $120,000; and Reserve Grand Champion Pen of Broilers, $77,000
  • Grand Champion Steer, $350,000; and Reserve Grand Champion Steer, $310,000
  • Grand Champion Turkey, $88,000; and Reserve Grand Champion Turkey, $81,000
  • *Grand Champion Work of Art, $205,000; and *Reserve Grand Champion Work of Art, $170,000
• The junior auction totals** included: market steers - $2,719,450; lamb and goat - $1,629,321; barrows - $1,257,300; poultry - $1,305,100; and school art - $1,324,000 (**unaudited preliminary totals that do not include cash contributions and some purchase commitment amounts).
• The Junior Commercial Steer Sale total was $527,043.
• The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Champion Wine Auction brought in $1,659,729, including a Show record price of $210,000 for the Grand Champion Best of Show, and a Show record price of $130,000 for the Reserve Grand Champion Best of Show.
• The Ranching & Wildlife Auction totaled $263,465.

Entertainment and Western Heritage
The founders of the Show believed that its educational mission would be best fulfilled in a public fair environment where the general public could learn about the agriculture and livestock industry. A full understanding of Texas’ agricultural and livestock industries is rooted in an appreciation of the state’s Western heritage. The Show is committed to preserving and celebrating the Houston area’s rich Western culture as part of its mission. Today, RodeoHouston and many other family-oriented grounds activities support the facet of the Show’s mission.

• The 2011 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo entertained a record 2,262,834 visitors for general attendance (for all activities on the grounds). The previous general attendance record was set in 2010 with a total of 2,144,077 visitors. This is the second year in a row the Show has reached the 2 million mark for general attendance.
• The RODEOHOUSTON paid attendance totaled a record 1,225,323 fans enjoying action-packed rodeo and superstars in concert.
• Five RODEOHOUSTON performances, featuring concerts by the artists below, landed in the list of the Show’s top 20 paid Rodeo attendance records:
  • 3rd: March 19, 2011 - Brad Paisley, 73,825
  • 4th: March 16,2011 - Miranda Lambert, 73,811
  • 5th: March 13, 2011 - La Arrolladorra Banda El Limon and La Leyenda, 73,469
  • 15th: March 6, 2011 - Selena Gomez, 72,709
  • 19th: March 15, 2011 - KISS, 72,384
• RodeoHouston tickets continue to be well below the average concert ticket cost providing affordable family entertainment.
• The 2011 RODEOHOUSTON BP Super Series, an international, invitation-only championship, featured the world’s top 40 cowboys and top 50 cowgirls in seven events. With the entire purse provided by RODEOHOUSTON and no entry fees required by athletes, contestants competed for a share of more than $1.5 million in prize money, and each event champion walked  away from Reliant Stadium with at least $50,000, a RODEOHOUSTON trophy saddle and a champion buckle.
• RodeoHouston includes cowboys and cowgirls participating in the toughest, oldest Western sport of rodeo, including bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping and tie-down roping.
• The Cinch RODEOHOUSTON Super Shootout: North American’s Champions debuted Sunday, March 20. This ground-breaking, invitation-only, one-day event featured champion athletes from the top 10 U. S. and Canadian rodeos competing in bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding and saddle bronc riding for a total purse of $200,000, making the event the richest one-day rodeo in the world. Each champion walked away with $25,000.
• The Show launched the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo free, custom mobile application in 2011. The app, available for iPhone and Android devices, is an electronic version of the Show’s visitor guide. The mobile app had more than 37,000 downloads for the Show.
• Since 1952, trail rides have grown into a signature tradition of the Show. Each year, more than 4,000 riders saddle up to relive the Old West as part of 13 trail rides, heading to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo from points across Texas.
• More than 300,000 young amateur artists participated in the School Art Program in 2011, submitting projects based on Western culture, history and heritage.
• Black Heritage Day, an annual event, spotlights the contributions of black pioneers to the cultural achievement and heritage of the city of Houston and the state of Texas.
• Go Tejano Day celebrates Houston’s rich Hispanic heritage with day-long festivities, including a Mariachi Competition and Fiesta Charra.
• The Chuck Wagon Corral shows visitors the art of dining on the range.
• In 2011, a record 244,184 people visited the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest to kick off the Show, topping the 2010 attendance record of 221,229.
• The Downtown Rodeo Parade has been a tradition for more than 70 years and includes 13 trail rides, decorative floats, marching bands and more.

Education
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo extends its commitment to the youth of Texas beyond the opportunity to participate in the state’s largest livestock show by granting and funding scholarships, educational endowments, agricultural research projects and other similar educational programs. Proceeds from the annual livestock show and rodeo allow the Show to commit $16 million to the youth of Texas through the Show’s youth and educational programs.

• In 2011, 562 students received over $9 million in scholarships for use at Texas colleges and universities.
• Since the inception of its scholarship program in 1957, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has committed more than $150 million in educational support to more than 20,000 Texas students.
• Each year, nearly 330,000 students are impacted by the Show’s competitions, scholarships and exhibits. More than $5 million in premiums and awards were paid to junior show exhibitors participating in the 2011 Show.

Fun Facts from 2011 Show

• More than 281,700 people rode Rodeo Express shuttles from five locations.
• In Capital One Bank AGventure Birthing Center, 65 piglets, 20 lambs and 15 calves were born during the Show. In the Poultry Exhibit, more than 180 chicks were hatched.
• More than 187,000 stuffed animals were won at the games in the carnival.
• More than 20,000 young cowboys and cowgirls took a ride at the pony rides.
• More than 23,000 people visited the butterfly house.
• More than 9,000 children rolled around the water in giant bubbles.
• Food could be found at nearly all areas within Reliant Park, and Show visitors enjoyed the unique types available. Consumed were:
  • 122,800 funnel cakes
  • 111,000 turkey legs (20 small turkey farms!)
  • 66,000 caramel and candied apples (two orchards!)
  • 20,000 pounds of sugar for cotton candy
  • 9,000 pounds of strawberries
  • 5,000 cans of whipped cream
  • 10,800 chocolate-covered strawberries
  • 30,000 glasses of lemonade
  • 3 tons of catfish
  • 50,000 pounds of potatoes
  • 40,000 deep-fried Oreos