Equine
A Rodeo Photographer’s Journey
By Phillip Kitts
Have you ever wondered what the rodeo looks like for contract personnel in the winter?
This month we will look at what the winter months look like from the rodeo photographer’s perspective.
To understand the time and demands that go into a career as a rodeo photographer, let’s start at when the season gets busy. Not all rodeo photographers work the same. There are many varieties in their career field. They can vary from the few weekends here and there to the full-timer who travels more than 30 weekends a year.
The full-timer that spends most of their year working usually hits the road in late winter. Yes, the winter months are slower but the photographer who has cemented themselves into the field usually books a few during late winter.
Rolling into the spring it begins to get busy. Depending on the photographer, spring can start with an every other weekend type schedule all the way to every weekend through the summer. In 2023 there were photographers that had 20-plus weeks straight going from rodeo to rodeo.
When late fall rolls in things begin to slow down, even for the go-getter who books everything they can.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Krista Lucas Wynn
The annual Windy Ryon roping was held on Memorial weekend, May 24-26, 2024. The bucket list event, in Saginaw, Texas, featured exciting competition in team roping, breakaway roping, tie down roping, steer roping, and team tying. Miraculously, the weather did not play much of a factor in the arena conditions, and it was a fun time had by all.
The three days of competition was the 50th year for the Windy Ryon, named after the cowboy businessman who founded Ryon’s Saddle Shop and Western Store, located in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. The arena is conveniently just 10 minutes from the Stockyards, giving fans a full day of western activities. The weekend kicked off Friday, May 24, with an open breakaway roping, women’s team roping and open team roping.
To read more, pick up a copy of the July issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Savannah Magoteaux
In April, reining horse enthusiasts from across the country and around the globe traveled to Tulsa, Okla., for the National Reining Breeders Classic. The event, one of the largest in the reining industry, made its move to Tulsa in 2023, after more than two decades in Katy, Texas. The move was lucrative, and the event set multiple records, prompting the NRBC Board of Directors to expand the event to 12 days.
When the spin was spun and the final slide slid, the event had awarded more than $1.7 million in prize money alone, plus countless prizes that would fill two rooms – that’s not including the two trophy trailers presented to the Open and Non Pro Champions. The NRBC will return to Tulsa April 15-26, 2025.
Weatherford’s Casey Deary Wins Open Championship on Down Right Amazing
Scores started out high in the NRBC Open Finals and continued to build through the evening, along with the anticipation of the crowd, all waiting for that big run to topple all the previous scores. That ride came to rapturous applause as Casey Deary and Down Right Amazing rode out of the arena to the sound of “The Circle of Life,” the song denoting a new high score at the NRBC.
To read more, pick up a copy of the June issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Krista Lucas Wynn
As female sports come under fire in 2024, the same can not be said for the sport of rodeo. The western industry is not short of talented, strong cowgirls. The Women’s Rodeo World Championship, presented by the World Champions Rodeo Alliance and the Professional Bull Riders, is the world’s richest women’s rodeo with a guaranteed payout of $750,000.
The week-long event showcases women competing in barrel racing, breakaway roping and team roping. The WRWC is the culmination of professionals and challengers alike who have qualified by a point system, held May 13-18 at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, and the championship round is at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Competitors are nominated at any event throughout the year to earn points leading up to the WRWC.
To read more, pick up a copy of the June issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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