The National Circuit Finals were previously held every March in Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...

; however, for 2011 and beyond the event has been moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...

. Qualification for the event comes via winning the season title or winning the average title at the circuit finals rodeo in bareback riding

Bareback riding

Bareback riding is a form of horseback riding without a saddle. It requires skill, balance, and coordination, as the rider does not have any equipment to compensate for errors of balance or skill....

, steer wrestling

Steer wrestling

Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by twisting its horns. Like all rodeo events, there are concerns from the animal rights community that the competition...

, team roping

Team roping

Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header," the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns, but it is also legal for the rope to go around the neck, or go around...

, saddle bronc riding

Bronc riding

Bronc riding, either saddle bronc or bareback bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding on a horse , that attempts to throw or buck off the rider...

, tie-down roping, barrel racing

Barrel racing

Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. Though both boys and girls compete at the youth level and men compete in some amateur venues, in collegiate and professional ranks, it is primarily a rodeo...

, or bull riding

Bull riding

Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....

. A competitor must compete in one of the PRCA's 12 regional circuits (Montana, Mountain States, Wilderness, California, Turquoise, Texas, Prairie, Badlands, Great Lakes, Southeast, First Frontier) and compete at one of the circuit finals in order to participate in the DCNFR.

Competitors go through two longer performances to compete for eight spots for the semi-finals. The semis and the finals are in sudden death format. The top four times and scores will advance to the one go-round final. Whoever has the top score or time in the finals is crowned the DCNFR champion for the year. In 2007, the PRCA Board of Directors announced that the winners of the DCNFR will advance for the wild-card spots for the Ariat Playoffs Series.