There are bad days at the office and then there are BAD days at the office.
A bull fighter in the 2021 Responder Relief Rodeo in Kiowa, CO (August 21, 2021) had one of those days where a beast with a bad attitude decided to help him look at life from a fresh perspective.
A bull fighter found himself gaining a new perspective after being tossed in the air by one of the bulls in the 2021 Responder Relief Rodeo in Kiowa, CO on August 21, 2021. The rodeo benefits the Responder Relief Foundation, which contributes to the families of fallen first responders and helps the critically injured.
They said he was “very sore” the next day, but that he is all right. I bet he’ll tell you looking at life from a new perspective ain’t always what it’s cracked up to be…
The Fence Post magazine has previously published my article and photo spread images from the 2021 Cheyenne Frontier Days championship round of rodeo. One thing about Cheyenne is that there are always more photos to be shared from there than can fit into magazines!
As a result, I thought I would post on this blog 10 victory images from the 10 categories that win titles and buckles at the historic Wyoming rodeo. Due to space limitations, most of these images did not make the pages of the magazine, so I wanted them to see life here in this blog.
I hope you enjoy.
3-time PRCA world champion bareback cowboy Tim O’Connell rode MLW’s Irish Eyes to an 89-point score and a Cheyenne Frontier Days title during Sunday’s championship round on August 01, 2021. The win was O’Connell’s second Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo title.
Sawyer Gilbert of Buffalo, SD (middle) poses in front of the big crowd with her championship saddle after winning the 2021 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo Women’s Breakaway Roping event. 2021 was the just the second year of CFD hosting the event and the first year they added even money with the rest of the rodeo events.
7-time NFR qualifier Marty Yates went first in the Tie Down Roping and posted the championship round’s fastest time of 10.3 seconds to win the 2021 CFD buckle on August 01, 2021.
Utah cowboy Stetson Wright rode a high kicking Feather Fluffer for 90 points in Sunday’s (August 01) championship round for the saddle bronc title at the 2021 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
Heeler Jade Corkill was in process of throwing his loop for a successful run of 10.2 seconds to help win a Cheyenne title with Clay Smith. The win was Corkill’s third Cheyenne buckle (’09, ’13, ’21).
Montana Steer Wrestler Newt Novich tied a Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo arena record with this 5.1-second time in Sunday’s (August 01) championship round to win the buckle and a big check.
25-year-old Kansas Steer Roper Cole Patterson was all smiles when he was congratulated and interviewed inside the stadium arena after winning the title at the 2021 CFD.
3-time world champion barrel racer Hailey Kinsel and her popular mare “Sister” nailed down the fastest time of 17.30 seconds in the short go to win the CFD buckle on Sunday August 01, 2021.
Australian bull rider Ky Hamilton rode a leaping bull to earn the best score of the entire Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo and take home the 2021 CFD title.
Utah cowboy Stetson Wright acknowledges the applause of the big crowd as he was awarded the All Around title at the 2021 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo in Cheyenne, WY. Wright won the title by earning money in both the saddle bronc and bull riding competitions (placing 1st in saddle bronc and 4th in bull riding) to become the only roughstock cowboy to earn consecutive CFD All Around buckles since the legendary Jim Shoulders did it way back in 1963-1964.
One of the great things about county fairs are all the young people raising and showing animals. Raising and showing animal projects teaches and imparts respect, accountability, work ethic, and yes… humility (farm animals will always end up teaching everyone humility at one time or another).
A pair of brothers at the 2021 Douglas County Fair in Castle Rock, CO learned all those lessons and more. Job Knight (15-years-old) and Silas McQuate (9-years-old) also learned how to be respectful and gracious while sweeping the top Market Beef Steer awards at the fair and setting auction records in the fair’s 2021 Junior Livestock Sale.
I was able to get a chance to talk with Job and Silas, along with their parents Seth and Jenn, on the last day of the Douglas County Fair. You can find my article and photos about their accomplishments on The Fence Post magazine’s website: https://www.thefencepost.com/news/oh-brothers/
Big brother Job Knight and Diesel (left), along with younger brother Silas McQuate and Superman (right), made a family clean sweep of the Grand Champion Market Beef Steer and Reserve Grand Champion Market Beef Steer at the 2021 Douglas County Fair in Castle Rock, CO. On top of those awards, Job picked up the Reserve Sr. Showmanship award and Silas won the Jr. Showmanship Champion buckle. As if that wasn’t enough, the Larkspur, CO brothers both set auction records for the winning bids on their Maine Angus cross steers in Douglas County Fair’s 2021 Junior Livestock Sale.
As a photographer, I am not shooting a rodeo just for the cowboys and cowgirls. No siree.
I love photographing the animal athletes at least as much, if not more, than the contestants.
Just don’t tell the contestants I said that! 🙂
Summit Pro Rodeo Company always — and I mean A-L-W-A-Y-S — brings incredible animal athletes to the rodeos where they provide the stock. I know I will get great photographs when I see their name on the information sheets.
It wasn’t just the rodeo cowboys that were the athletes inside the arena at the 2021 Elizabeth Stampede. The bucking stock brought by Summit Pro Rodeo Company, like Lakota Park bucking off Mason Snyder, was also worth the price of admission.
I love shooting the bucking broncs no matter if the cowboy is aboard or not!
Great to see ALL the athletes taking part in the 2021 Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo in Elizabeth, CO. There is a reason that small town rodeo has won so many awards. Summit Pro Rodeo Company is certainly a part of those reasons…
I was finally able to get the new camera (Canon EOS 1Dx Mark III) out to some night rodeo action. First of all, it felt good to be taking action shots again. I love the challenge of action shooting.
First things first, though. A rodeo always has a patriotic National Anthem, and the 2021 Elizabeth Stampede’s XTreme Bulls did it right…
A Bald Eagle made an appearance at the start of the Friday night bull riding at the 2021 Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo. It would be in the arena during the singing of the National Anthem.
Once the sun goes down, it has often been a different story, as night time action can be a significant obstacle for me with my 14-year-old 1D Mark III camera. As you can imagine, I was eager to experience shooting with the new 1Dx Mark III.
It did not disappoint.
In the past, I had to leave a night rodeo when the sun went down. A lot of the outdoor arena lights are fine for watching a rodeo from the stands, but not for photography purposes. Just not enough light to support a fast enough shutter speed to capture the action. And my older EOS 1D just did not have the High ISO capability to bump the shutter speed and still have usable images.
A primary stock contractor for the 2021 Elizabeth Stampede Bull Riding competition, Summit Pro Rodeo, always brings top-flight animal athletes to the popular and award winning small town rodeo.
As you can see from the above image, the new Canon EOS 1Dx Mark III allowed me to stay and shoot the bull riding action under the lights. While my older version had a usable ISO of about 2,500, the new 1Dx Mark III allowed me to shoot the bull riding with an ISO of 25,000 and still have usable photos to send to the magazine that will publish my coverage. It is a massive difference, and will boost my freelance capabilities by a significant amount.
A winning ride under the lights…
Montana cowboy Parker Breding rode a high-kicking Hot Shot in front of a sold-out crowd for 88-points and the 2021 Elizabeth Stampede XTreme Bulls title on Friday June 04, 2021.
I am highly satisfied, so far, with the Canon EOS 1Dx Mark III’s capabilities and am looking forward to working over this coming weekend to put it through even more paces.
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