Colorful vibes jumped out at Ivan McClellan when he attended a black rodeo for the first time—everything popped, from the funky beats to the vibrant clothes to the cheers of the crowd. Even the rodeo clowns sparkled.
When a filmmaker first asked McClellan, 42, to photograph a black rodeo, he thought it sounded crazy. Who knew black rodeos even existed? But the filmmaker, who was making a documentary on black rodeos, assured him it was no joke.
For McClellan, a Portland-based photographer, the notion conjured the comical scenes from “Blazing Saddles” and “The Cherokee Kid.” He couldn’t imagine that there was an African American rodeo culture, much less that it had been around since the Civil War.
When he stepped into the corral for the first time, he was dazzled by the sight: riders wearing Jordans and basketball shorts, some in no shirts at all, but most clad in traditional cowboy wear.
“It just perfectly blended with black culture, made it feel very familiar and very accessible,” McClellan said.
Really, there’s been an underground rodeo culture that’s been riding and roping and bucking under society’s noses all along?
All along.
McClellan’s first black rodeo was Oklahoma’s Roy LeBlanc Invitational Rodeo. He bought a plane ticket, arrived, and was welcomed with open arms—no questions, no matter how different he appeared. “I was completely dressed wrong for the part,” McClellan said.
They had on starched shirts that crackled when they moved their arms; some old men had very precise mustaches; there was all the cowboy gear white cowboys wear but with flair. They just had this flavor. Sound equipment and DJs pumped out soul, R&B, and hip-hop alongside blues and country music in the stadium. The smoke of barbecues, the smell of manure, and the sight of thousands of white trailers with horses tied beside them in the shade—all filled the senses.
“It kind of has a family reunion vibe,” McClellan said, adding that black cowboys “just do it with a little bit different energy, little bit different swagger.” He added: “You‘ll see more jewelry. You’ll hear a lot of hip-hop and soul and blues at a black rodeo.”
When the action on horseback began, they proved they had traditional rodeo skills too. Dirt and cowboy hats flew. Shirts billowed as mounted cowboys galloped incredibly fast around barrels. Batons were handed off during the Pony Express event. Horses were going crazy.
“There was just so much energy,” McClellan said. “Each fan in the crowd had a different team that they rooted for.”
McClellan was nervous around horses. He just tried not to get trampled. Then again, some of his best shots over the years were taken while far closer than was sensible.
He says 99.5 percent of the folks were black, with a few white faces. The wives of some of the athletes were white; some of the grounds crew were too; a few white folks also came to take in the show. McClellan emphasized that black rodeos aren’t about exclusion or race. Instead, they’re about “people expressing themselves authentically” and “just about love” for the sport and culture.
McClellan says it’s “a shame” more white folks don’t come because “they would be really entertained and would feel really amongst community.”
The color, warmth, and excitement of his first black rodeo drew McClellan back. He now attends around 10 a year in Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas. Each has its particular traits. “People are super nice in Arizona and really, really warm and cheery,” he says. “It’s probably all that sunshine.” Oklahoma cowboys love rolling in their corvettes and motorcycles.
One thing ties them together: black rodeo culture.
That goes way back to the Civil War, McClellan says. Many white men went off to fight and left enslaved blacks to herd livestock. After the war and emancipation, they were freed and became cowboys. White rodeos didn’t want them, so blacks started their own, indistinguishable from white ones but for a few flourishes.
Black and white rodeos share many traditions.
Like having good, old-fashioned manners.
“They say, ‘Yes, ma’am.’ They say, ‘No, ma’am,’” McClellan said.
Both proudly sport cowboy duds: massive belt buckles, blue jeans, starched long sleeves, and proud cowboy hats.
“Eight Seconds” tells the story of a black rodeo in one day. The morning stirs with slow, brewing excitement. Cowboys ready their horses and saddles. Then the action starts: bucking broncos, bull riders, and relay races explode into kaleidoscopic movement and color. Celebration and dance end the day. A special flavor shines throughout.
McClellan, who started his own Eight Seconds black rodeo to help the culture thrive, admits these events are declining. That pains him. It started with the advent of the railroad and barbed wire fences; cowboys just weren’t in high demand anymore. Industrialization pushed them into the past.
Today, more young folks are moving to the city. “It’s unfortunate that a kid is more likely to pick up an iPad than a rope,” McClellan said. Fewer carry the baton of cowboy culture into the future. The median cowboy age grows older.
McClellan says losing this culture means “the loss of a lot of fundamental things to our humanity as food systems.” Protecting our food and humanity “all starts with getting young people interested in this culture.”
He added: “It’s something that I worry about for sure.”
The photographer has moved the needle in the right direction. Eight Seconds rodeo, which McClellan started two years ago, drew a crowd of 7,200 cow folks this year. It was a spectacle.
