Barrel Racing at the Calgary Stampede
I had a chance to shoot the rodeo midweek for a little while. I was happy to catch the barrel racing as it’s one of my favorite events to photograph. With the rider and her horse leaning hard into the barrel turns, the dirt flies and the images can be amazing. When they make the last turn and takeoff for the finish line, there are few long shutter, motion blur opportunities that I enjoy more.
Above Carlee Otero from Perrin, Texas sprints towards her winning time of 16.79 seconds on Day 6 of the 2026 Calgary Stampede Rodeo.
Katelyn Scott from Odessa, Texas corners around the second barrel on her way to a 17.05 second run.
Jordan Driver from Garden City, Texas coming off the barrel in the first image and then racing to close out her run on Wednesday, July 8th in the image above.
Blake Molle from Chauvin, Alberta kicks her boot and stirrup over the barrel on a tight turn.
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Tsuu T’ina Rodeo: More from Friday night
On Friday night at the rodeo, my daughter and I watched the barrel racing. We had a lot of fun watching these amazing partners tear around the barrels.
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An evening at the Tsuu T’ina Rodeo
Under mild protest my son and I watched the last half of the evening set of the Tsuu T’ina’s 43rd annual rodeo last night. Kian found a few boys to play kendama with so that bought me a little time to photograph. The sun dropped into some wildfire smoke that laid above the horizon which made for dramatic backlighting. I will share more soon but I’m packing my gear and heading over for Sunday’s short go this afternoon. Here a cowboy lifts the calf into position to fix three of the legs with a half hitch knot to complete his run in the tie-down roping event.
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Calgary Stampede Rodeo – Day 1 Barrel Racing
The Barrel Racing on the first day of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo was exciting as it always is. The speed the women turn their horses through the course is awesome. I think there should be more women’s events at the Stampede but I’m happy there is at least this one to showcase just how great the cowgirls are!
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Calgary Stampede Rodeo – Day 1 Bareback
I was fortunate to be able to join a great group in the infield for the first day of the 2017 Calgary Stampede Rodeo (thanks Todd!). It’s been a couple of years since I had a good opportunity to photograph down there. Our seats were at the top of the infield which afforded a great view from above the chutes. The bareback event was foreshadowed by the novice bareback riders and they had exciting rides. Below, Lane Ferguson from Granum, Alberta rode Xotic Departure to the day win in the novice bareback event.
A little while later, the professional bareback riding got started. Caleb Bennett and Up Ur Alley put up an 85.50 on the first ride.
Cole Goodine on Soap Bubbles went the full time as well but fell a little short of Caleb’s opening mark.
I’m always amazed watching both the cowboys and the horses – balance, power and speed on both sides of the contest. All are world class and they did more than their share to help the Stampede to live up to its name as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Richie Champion astride Twin Cherry won the Day 1 money with a score of 89.00. The first image in this set shows Richie set up well on the horse during the winning ride. Below, the pair explode out of their gate – setting the tone for a great ride.
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Calgary Stampede – running and riding at the rodeo
I started this year’s Calgary Stampede with an afternoon at the rodeo with two good friends. We were part of a larger band of harmless troublemakers so the party started before and continued after the rodeo was over. Photography wasn’t my focus on this visit to the grounds but I did have some good opportunities from the seats in the infield right above the chutes.
It was great to see the cowgirls, cowboys and all of the animals in action. Judging by the capacity crowd and all of their happy faces, I wasn’t alone. Happy Stampede!
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Saddle Bronc Finals at the Tsuu T’ina Rodeo
The Saddle Bronc was a great event to watch at this year’s Tsuu T’ina Rodeo. The goal is to hang on for 8 seconds during a torturous ride that often finds the horse whipping the cowboy around like a rag doll tied to a rocket. Here are a few images from the finals on July 26th.
(click any image to open a larger version of that image)
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Steer wrestling at the Tsuu T’ina rodeo
All rodeo cowboys are tough. I particularly admire the steer wrestlers as that is an event that I have a hard time even dreaming of trying out. Leaping off a perfectly good horse onto the back of a small cow with large horns seems a bit too close to the insane end of the scale for me.
I absolutely love watching and photographing this event despite having no interest in doing it myself. The short go of the steer wrestling event at the Tsuu T’ina All Indian Rodeo on July 26th put the top 10 qualifiers in the finals and a shot at the money. Keenan Crane (the image directly above) had a great run and took home the cheque and the hardware – well deserved!
This series of Leon Montour pulling in a steer illustrates a bit of the power, balance and danger of this event.
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Tsuu T’ina Nation Tour Rodeo Finals
This weekend was the 41st annual Tsuu T’ina Nation’s Rodeo which draws First Nation people born to the saddle from all over North America. The rodeo is held at the Redwood Meadows Arena which just across Highway 22 from my home. This is one of my favourite rodeos and it was great to be able to be on the rails for the last day.
It was an afternoon that started with sun which gave way to heavy, heavy rain and ended with high clouds towards the end of the night. Dynamic photographic opportunities came with the changing weather which was great for me. Weather doesn’t make too much difference for the people or for the animals – they are all ready to go no matter what is going on above. I have a stack of photographs to look at, and will share more soon, but wanted to get out this first image of one of the high-flying bull riders from a great afternoon in the Bragg Creek area.
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Tsuu T’ina Rodeo – Sunday Favourites
The Tsuu T’ina Nation’s Indian Rodeo is a grand event, as I have written about and shared photographs from for the past few years. This year I was able to watch most of the Sunday Finals and the performances met all expectations. Last week, I shared a few photos from the Saddle Bronc final. Here are a few favourites from the other events on July 27th.
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These last two images are from Marlon Williams’s ride on Big Carl. Marlon had a great ride and only came off the back after he’d logged the full 8 seconds and the bell had been rung. This earned him the championship for the Bull Riding event which was the last one on the evening.
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Saddle Bronc Finals at the Tsuu T’ina Rodeo
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The finals of the 40th annual Tsuu T’ina Nation Indian Rodeo were held on July 27th. This rodeo is a favourite of mine as the competitors, the stock and the atmosphere are all excellent. This year was no exception and I had a great afternoon photographing the cowgirls and cowboys in their respective riding, racing and roping events. The Saddle Bronc is always exciting as these horses get charged up and it is incredibly hard for anyone to hang on for the required 8 seconds. Seth Fenner walked away as the champion with a memorable ride on Cowboy Casanova that earned him 76.5 points (the photograph above is from that ride; the one below is at the end of the ride when the pickup men come in to assist the cowboy’s dismount).
The high quality of the stock contributed to a great final and the cowboys met the challenge. The cowboys in this event always amaze me – it’s like riding a rocket while wrestling an angry crocodile. There were a couple of qualified a number of exciting rides with a couple full times and a couple buck offs. It’s fun to watch and I’m always impressed how skilled and committed all of the supporting cast are (the pick up men, rodeo clowns, officials and beyond). The Tsuu T’ina Rodeo is on the same level as much larger rodeos and I’m already looking forward to next year’s event.
Here are a few more photos from the Saddle Bronc event. I will share more from the other events soon.
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Getting ready to ride
This boy had the far off gaze that I see on many of the cowboys and cowgirls faces as they get set for their turn at the rodeo. This little cowboy was competing in the mutton busting event where young boys and girls ride out of the gate on the back of a spirited sheep. As with the senior riding events, the goal is to stay on which is no easy task no matter what you are on the back of.
