When it comes to making the National Finals Rodeo in December in Las Vegas, Nevada, there is a lot more strategy that goes into play than most people would ever realize - even those that may consider themselves high level rodeo fans. Diving deep into the impacts of rodeo counts, rodeo rule changes, rodeo administration and more, saddle bronc rider Joe Harper and steer wrestler Cody Cabral share with us what it takes strategy wise to get down the road on the hunt for a gold buckle.
Read MoreThey ride horses, rope calves, buck broncos, ride and fight bulls, and even wrestle steers. They are Black cowboys, and the legacies of their pursuits intersect with those of America's struggle for racial equality, human rights, and social justice.
Keith Ryan Cartwright brings to life the stories of such pioneers as Cleo Hearn, the first Black cowboy to professionally rope in the Rodeo Cowboy Association; Myrtis Dightman, who became known as the Jackie Robinson of Rodeo after being the first Black cowboy to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo; and Tex Williams, the first Black cowboy to become a state high school rodeo champion in Texas.
Black Cowboys of Rodeo: Unsung Heroes from Harlem to Hollywood and the American West author Keith Ryan Cartwright talks about his unlikely career in the PBR from the world of entertainment to the production of this pivotal book. Black Cowboys of Rodeo is a collection of one hundred years of stories, told by these revolutionary Black pioneers themselves and set against the backdrop of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, segregation, the civil rights movement, and eventually the integration of a racially divided country.