this little ranch rodeo is near & dear to my heart like you wouldn't believe. brush creek ranch's 2021 rodeo was the first rodeo I ever shot & really opened my eyes to how I wanted to continue in my photography career. it truly has such a special place in my heart, & I hope to return to shoot it for many many years to come.
now because this little blog didn't come along until long after last year's rodeo, I'm going to show y'all some of my favorites from 2021. these photos are what spurred me to pursue rodeo photography as a potential career, & I hope y'all love them as much as I do.
now on to the 2022 rodeo!
I wasn't able to snag as many pictures this year because I was barrel racing in the rodeo (!!) but I definitely did my fair share of running in circles around the arena. most of the rough stock competitors come from surrounding towns in the Platte Valley, but this year we had some come from as far as Texas which was very cool. they did such a good job & I was really impressed that most of them held on way past the buzzer. it makes me wonder how many of these boys we'll be seeing in a few years in the professional circuit.
& of course you can't have a rodeo without incredible pickup men! ours are locals, including our cattle operation manager. they do such an amazing job & definitely entertain the guests (dare I say are almost more entertaining than the actual competitors). a big shout out to them for making sure I stayed safe on the fence all night! ;)
an event I've always enjoyed (more than the rough stock if I'm being honest) is team roping - & breakaway roping, even though our rodeo is too little for that. I love watching a team, whether that's a header & a heeler or a rider & their horse, trusting & relying on each other to win. it's also amazing to me how fast a good run can go! literal seconds y'all, that's crazy! anyways, please enjoy some of my favorite roping pictures from the rodeo, some featuring Brush Creek Ranch's very own Lariat Adams.
& obviously my favorite event of this year's rodeo was the one I actually got to compete in - barrel racing! quite a few of the wranglers got to participate this year & I can confidently say we all had a blast. Erin blew us all away with her run on Neon - I don't remember her exact time, but I know it was in the 19 second range...very impressive for a girl who started practicing about two weeks before this rodeo! my run was definitely not that impressive, but I had a ton of fun & I didn't lose my hat or knock a barrel or fall over, which are all things I was super worried about. because I was running in the race, I didn't get photos of everyone (which I'm super bummed about) but I'm pretty happy with the ones I did get!
(also let's take a moment for Hannah losing her reins coming around the second barrel and still finishing in the top three!
to close this little post out, I just wanted to add in a few more photos that I love from this rodeo. it was such a fun night, & after taking a couple of months away from rodeo photography after the San Antonio Rodeo, reminded me how much I love this sport & the community of people that surround it.
xo, Caroline
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