Memories Can Make It Worthwhile

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#photography, bareback, cold, colorado, country, cowboy, cowboys, culture, elizabeth Stampede, freelance, freelancing, frigid, horse, horses, lifestyle, lincoln rogers, memories, phtographing, professional, rain, rodeo, rugged, rural, sport, tough, weather, west, western

It’s not exactly Singing in the Rain, but photographing in less-than-ideal weather is something you just do when you earn money with your camera. Wind whipping up? Rain starting to pour? It might be time to reach into the camera bag and pull out the emergency countermeasures (known by most people as lightweight windbreakers and plastic bags) and keep shooting.

While I have a lot of great photography related memories… a lot… I will always recall the freezing Sunday afternoon rain of the 2014 Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo. Despite it being early June, the downpour was frigid. My fingers were so cold they were basically stuck in the curved position of gripping my camera. On the positive side, at least I couldn’t drop my equipment in the mud.

Colorado cowboy Tyler Scales gritted out a rain-soaked ride for a solid 83-point score, which was the best bareback ride of the day.

I am a freelancer, so I get to choose what I cover and what I photograph. Ice cold rain is not something I typically enjoy (and I pity those that do), but I do love covering good rodeos and photo opportunities in the rain can be unique. So I stayed a while longer and I am glad I did.

While the crowd had already been sent home due to weather conditions, the rodeo action restarted hours later to finish up in front of empty stands.

Why am I glad I stayed? While I was able to use some of the shots for my published article, the real reason I am glad I stayed is the memories that were made. I will always have the memories that go with those photos. Was it miserable weather for photographing? Yep. Did I want to leave sooner than I did? Yes again. But now, when I go back and look at the photos, I get to smile as I recall being there.

Sometimes I can’t believe I get paid to write and photograph. What is that old saying? Do what you love and love what you do.

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ~ John 8:32

You can also find Lincoln Rogers on
www.lincolnrogers.com and the conservative,
Pro-America social media platform USA.Life
I like it there!

A Decade of Bull!

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#photography, buckers, bucking bulls, bull, bull riding, bull team, bulls, Castle Rock, castle rock bull riding, colorado, country, cowboy, cowboys, douglas county fairgrounds, extreme, lincoln rogers, livestock, rodeo, rural, sport, stock contractors, the fence post, the fence post magazine, tough, ty rinaldo, west, western

Bull riding, that is! The 10th annual Castle Rock Bull Riding & Bull Challenge took place with two performances in front of large crowds on Saturday February 12, 2022 in Castle Rock, CO. 100+ bull riders competed, along with 33 stock contractors bringing teams of 3 bulls each. Both the bull riders and the stock contractors were vying to earn a share of over $25,000 in prize money. My article and photos have been published online by The Fence Post magazine: https://www.thefencepost.com/news/a-decade-of-bull/

Rafter R Bulls’ Red Bear showed the kind of animal athleticism that ensured Divide, CO bull rider Duece Brown was not going to be able to stay aboard during Saturday afternoon’s Castle Rock Bull Riding performance at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, CO (February 12, 2022).

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ~ John 8:32

You can also find Lincoln Rogers on
www.lincolnrogers.com and the conservative,
Pro-America social media platform USA.Life
I like it there!

Bull Fighter Gains a New Perspective…

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#photography, airborn, airborne, animal, animal athlete, athletic, bucking, bull, bull fighter, bull riding, bullfighter, bulls, colorado, country, cowboy, extreme, first responders, horns, kiowa, lincoln rogers, livestock, pain, perspective, responder relief fondation, responder relief rodeo, rodeo, rural, sport, tough, tough day at the office, tumble, west, western, wreck

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…

You can find Lincoln Rogers on the conservative,
Pro-America social media platform USA.Life
https://usa.life/LincolnRogersWritingPhotography

A link to USA.Life.
I like it there!

Wild Horses at Cheyenne Frontier Days

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action, bad idea, battle, Cheyenne, Cheyenne Frontier Days, cowboy, cowboys, crazy, dangerous, extreme, historic, horse, horses, lincoln rogers, man, rodeo, struggle, testosterone, tough, tradition, west, western, wild, wild horse race, wild horses, world famous, Wyoming

Keep singing that country music song with me… “Wild horses… keep dragging me away.”

The popular and famous Wild Horse Race (they don’t use actual wild horses anymore) is a tradition on the last day of the world famous Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is a wild and wooly affair that pits cowboys against horsepower in a battle to saddle an untrained horse, ride it around the large track and cross the finish line first.

In a contest of strength and determination, it is cowboy against horse in the annual Wild Horse Race at the conclusion of the historic Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, WY. As seen in this image, the horse usually wins.

The horses are typically unharmed during the event (there are plenty of people on hand to help with that). The same can’t be said about most of the cowboys, though.

I wonder if making the decision to sign up for this event goes something like this: “Hey pard, those guys last year couldn’t get that wild horse saddled.” “Here, hold my beer.”

“Wild horses…. keep dragging me away.”

You can find Lincoln Rogers on the conservative,
Pro-America social media platform USA.Life
https://usa.life/LincolnRogersWritingPhotography

A link to USA.Life.
I like it there!

The Animal Athletes

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#photography, action, American, animal athletes, athletes, broncs, bucking, colorado, country, cowboy, cowboys, elizabeth Stampede, horse, horses, lincoln rogers, livestock, rodeo, rural, sport, stock contractor, summit pro rodeo, summit pro rodeo company, tough, west, western

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…

You can find Lincoln Rogers on the conservative,
Pro-America social media platform USA.Life
https://usa.life/LincolnRogersWritingPhotography

A link to USA.Life.
I like it there!

So What Did You Do On Your Day Off?

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America, bareback, bronc, bucking bronc, casey colletti, cowboy, cowboy life, day off, denver, extreme, extreme sports, horse, rodeo, rodeo all star, rodeo cowboy, sport, tough, untamed, weekend, western, wild

Probably not what Colorado bareback cowboy Casey Colletti did this past Saturday (April 13, 2019)…

Casey Colletti wasn’t in the lineup of competitors for the 2019 Rodeo All Star event held in Denver, CO over the weekend of April 12-13, 2019. But when one of the contestants couldn’t make it, rodeo organizers called Colletti at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday to see if he could drive up from Pueblo, CO and ride some bucking broncs against some of the best competition in the sport.

Forget chores and spring cleaning, Colletti grabbed his gear and arrived in time for the 2:30 p.m. afternoon rodeo. Not content to just show up, Colletti won the afternoon round with an 84-point ride to advance to Saturday night’s championship round where, you guessed it, he rode another bronc for 87 points to win the Saturday night round and move into a head to head match-up against three-time PRCA world champion Will Lowe for a chance at an extra $5,000.00 and the 2019 Rodeo All Star title.

“I’m just happy to be here,” said a smiling Colletti after winning the round on Saturday night and getting ready to ride against Will Lowe for the title. “Being able to go against three time world champion Will Lowe in a shoot out, head to head format.  This is the kind of stuff we live for, you know what I mean?”

In the head to head round, Colletti beat his earlier scores with an 88-point ride on his third bucking bronc of the day. That’s right. Not one bucking bronc, which would send most people crawling to their chiropractor, but three bucking broncs in a single afternoon and evening. Even though his impressive 88 points in the head to head round fell short of Will Lowe’s stunning 90-point ride for the Rodeo All Star title, it is safe to say Colletti’s planned day off was a bit more productive than any of ours.

A Life Untamed (Cowboy Poetry)

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#photography, American Frontier, beef, cattle, cold, cowboy, cowboy hat, cowboy hats, cowboy poem, cowboy poetry, cowboys, dedicated, fine art photography, herd, horse, horses, Latigo, lincoln rogers, market, massive, mother nature, nature, old west, poem, poetry, ranch, ranching, ride, saddles, spurs, tough, toughness, Visual Arts, weather, west, western

Sitting here watching the thermometer hover at zero degrees today brought to mind the toughness and spirit of the cowboys who used to drive the massive cattle herds to market rain, sleet or snow in the old west.  Then I caught myself, because contemporary cowboys are still working the massive cattle herds no matter what mother nature throws their way.

This cowboy poem of mine is dedicated to cowboys past and present and was published in 2005 by the good folks at CowboyPoetry.com.

A Life Untamed (by Lincoln Rogers, 2005)

Dedicated to the working cowboy – past and present

The western trails bore Longhorn,
Over oceans of grass Plain,
And Cowboys rode like captains,
Through the waves of sun and rain.

4-inch brims and rowelled spurs,
Along with chaps and Latigo,
Matching leather on face and saddle,
Of a seasoned, working pro.

Some say the era of the Cowboy,
Is but a faded dream at best,
But that independent spirit,
Remains the heartbeat of the West.

Miles removed from concrete jungles,
On open vistas kissed by sun,
Modern Cowboys ride the range,
Just like those days the West was won.

So word and song is raised in honor,
To everyone who bears the flame;
Who stokes the fire of admiration,
For a life no one will tame.

© 2005, Lincoln Rogers
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author’s written permission.

Have a great day and don’t let your horse come home without ya!

Lincoln

Check out Lincoln’s online gallery of Fine Art Photography.