The ‘original extreme sport’: For cowboys, Christmas comes in July

Bareback bronc riders usually go first.

After the star-spangled, Old West pomp and circumstance that announces the start of many rodeo competitions – prayer, parachutists, parades showing the history of Western settlement – it’s almost always been the short, stocky bareback riders who kick off the competition that is equal parts extreme sport and artifact of a fading culture.

It’s Pioneer Days in Ogden, Utah – one of the biggest rodeos of the year – and Will Lowe could really use a win tonight. It’s “Patriot Night,” and smoke from the opening ceremony fireworks mixes with the dust and sweat clouding the air around where the cowboys have been gearing up. Limbs have been sprayed and taped; braces and brackets tightened; and boots, buckles, and leather chaps fastened. Empty water bottles and Red Bull cans litter the ground….

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