Several months ago, Harland was invited to photograph Dodge City Days, an annual 10 day festival that includes BBQ contest, street dances, concerts, a wild west show, a cattle drive, a PRCA rodeo, and many other events. The festival ran from July 25 through August 2, but we only attended the last weekend where we saw the cattle drive, the wild west show, and the rodeo.
We’re not huge rodeo fans, but this one was very well done, well-attended, and we ended up having a great time. The best part was that they invited us to photograph from one of those exclusive, (expensive) boxes situated over the chutes, so we were right on top of the action all night.
Here are a few of my shots from the evening:
SUNSET IN THE ARENA
PRAYER BEFORE RIDING THE BULL
GROUP PRAYER BEFORE BULLRIDING
BULL RIDING
WHEN THE RIDER FALLS, THE BULL WILL OFTEN GO AFTER HIM
RODEO CLOWNS PROTECTING A FALLEN RIDER
RODEO CLOWNS PROTECTING A FALLEN RIDER
STEER WRESTLING
PREPARING TO BRONC RIDE
FINDING THE PERFECT GRIP BEFORE BRONC RIDING
LEAVING THE CHUTE
BRONC RIDING
BRONC RIDING
BRONC RIDING
BRONC RIDING
CALF ROPING
TWILIGHT AT THE ARENA
My favorite events were the bull and bronc riding. And I have a new-found admiration for rodeo clowns who stand their ground against raging bulls to protect the riders.
Have you been to a rodeo? What were your favorite events?
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