The award, which was being presented for the first time, was announced at the National Finals Rodeo in Tamworth on January 25.

It follows an exciting year for the small local committee, which celebrated its 20th anniversary and hosted more than 400 competitors at the national championships in November.

President Nicholas Rice said around 100 other rodeo committees nationwide would have been eligible for the new award, which is distinctive in recognising the vital but less glamorous work that occurs behind the scenes.

"Most sporting awards concentrate on competitors - what's exciting about this one is that it's all about the committees,” he said.

“It's a new award to reward the committees for the hard work that goes into staging events for the competitors.”

He suggested several reasons why competitors had given Armidale the inaugural trophy for best committee.

"Year on year we have listened to the competitors and endeavoured to improve the events,” he said.

“We increase our prize money a little bit each year and we spread it evenly across all events.

“The other big winner for us is the fact that we run a junior rodeo as well on the Sunday, to encourage the young ones.

“A lot of families stay overnight which enables a nice social gathering on the Saturday night."

One of the most popular junior events, with a total prize pool of $1300, is the Matt Swadling junior memorial breakaway competition.

"It's always a big one for us,” he said.

“It would be the highest paying junior event in Australia.

“The quality of the competition, quantity of prize money, the social aspects of the event, and the under-18s competitions on the Saturday and the Sunday are also reasons our rodeo has proved successful.”