Going to your first rodeo? Well, y’all are in for quite a treat. There’s nothing quite like the smell of arena dirt, the sound of cheering crowds, and the thrill of watching cowboys and cowgirls do ...

EAGLE ” The gate flies open, a horse jolts out, bucking, circling, but Jed Wilson won’t let go. After the buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the ride, Wilson prepares to dismount. As he’s about to ...

There’s something about a rodeo that just feels like home. The roar of the crowd as the bronc leaves the chute. The grit, dust, and denim under the lights. Or maybe it’s what happens between the ...

Texas has long been an almost mythical site for a genre of American theater. The famously maximalist state hosts the sensory exports of a Stars-and-Stripes cultural performance where ten-gallon hats, ...

Drivers who pull onto the small road leading them to the New England Rodeo in Norton might well feel like they’ve arrived on a different planet. Located about an hour from Boston, the parking lot is a ...

The rodeo clown applied streaks of white makeup to his weathered cheeks and gazed into the mirror one last time. After all these years, JJ Harrison still hated painting his face. He pulled a black ...

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's Saturday morning newsletter, The Weekender. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here. Eight seconds. That’s how long a rider ...

CRANE — The gravel road to Riverside Ranch twists through an ocean of sagebrush like a snake, biting holes in tires and kicking up dust. It runs along the South Fork Malheur River, steering around ...

Nicholas Villanueva Jr. is a historian and sociologist of social justice movements at the University of Colorado Boulder. He has been fascinated by gay rodeo for nearly 30 years, and has participated ...