The Wyoming dust filtered through the stadium as cowboys, cowgirls, queens and clowns, bullfighters, barrel racers, steer wrestlers and pickup men stopped by my studio at Cheyenne Frontier Days to help create a picture of the rodeo. But before they cleaned up for the camera, they’d danced out of the chute, a hurricane of flesh and spit, a bull and a cowboy holding on to an old strap of leather. Maybe they spent 8 seconds on top of a heap of spinning beef, and moved on to the next go-round and a chance at a buckle. Or maybe there was no score and no pay. Clowns brushed off the dirt and dust. Pretty girls dressed up as queens with sparkling eyes to match their rhinestones. Out came the boots and belts, and Wyoming did what Wyoming does: celebrate the cowboy with the most famous of all rodeos.
Scenes from Cheyenne Frontier Days
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