Written by Noah Keur

With his leather glove jammed into the bareback rig, West Mitchell sits atop a 2000-pound bronc—his heart pounding waiting for the gate to swing open. After some clicks over the loud-speaker—and five shots of Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey—another cowboy pulls the rope attached to the barrier, releasing the horse to do what he’s been trained to for years.

It’s going to be a long eight seconds. 

But this isn’t Mitchell’s first rodeo, and it certainly won’t be his last. Despite its effect on his health, Mitchell finds peace in the rapid bucking of a horse, keeping him glued to an animal whose one-true goal is to throw him off. 

“My brain runs a hundred miles an hour every single day,” Mitchell said. “On the back of a horse is the only time it really calms down. And I never really felt like I had a home as a kid; I never felt like I had a place I belonged. But on the back of a horse is the one time I really feel like that’s what I’m meant to do.” 

Mitchell is a 24-year-old bareback bronc rider who holds little experience when compared to those who grew up in the rodeo scene. Although this may seem like a disadvantage, Mitchell’s inexperience has only driven him harder throughout his career. 

“It was only a six-month period where I did amateur rodeo that I decided to get my first professional card—in the Southeastern Professional Rodeo Association,” Mitchell said. “I was told by everyone at that school that I was wasting my rookie year and that there was no way that someone who has only been riding for six months would beat those people. But not only did I get the Southeastern Professional rookie of the year buckle, there was no one that was even close to me.” 

This love and determination for rodeo has led Mitchell across the country chasing those few seconds of thrill. He’s ridden in Washington, Montana, Idaho, California, Texas, Nebraska and several other states.  

Spending so much time on top of a bucking bronc, though, comes with unavoidable injuries. For him, this has included a broken collar bone and a fractured tibia. These hold little importance compared to his most gruesome injury that took place in August of 2022. 

“My first real injury was on a horse branded K-3,” Mitchell said. “It’s the horse I have tattooed on my shoulder. I fell underneath him on a ride, but it was not his fault. There is no aggression in these broncs. I broke my nasal bone in four places and my cheek bone. I had a brain bleed because of it, and I was not supposed to live through that injury. I was told I had a low likelihood—even the doctor told me to get my affairs in order.”

It was going to take a lot more than that to keep Mitchell away from the rodeo scene, though. It only took two days for Mitchell to convince himself he was not done barebacking; there’s a certain feeling it brings that’s too euphoric for him to let go. 

“On the third day, I was sitting in my recliner and all I could think about was the sound of my leather cracking into my rig,” Mitchell said. “And there’s a feeling when you slide up and your arm fits perfectly into this side cavity. And I don’t know how to describe it, but when I feel that hand crack back and me just fit into that little pocket, it’s almost like when you’re really tired and you take a big breath in, and you blow out. Everything feels alright in this world.”

This feeling led him to calling out K-3 on his first horse back from injury. 

This never give up mindset is not new to Mitchell. It’s actually what led him to the rodeo in the first place. He wasn’t born around bucking cowboys, neighing horses or anything related; he carried himself here to make a point. 

“I came from a pretty rocky start—rockier than most people,” Mitchell said. “I was 18, 19 and 20 years old—living on the streets not thinking I was meant for anything important. I want to prove to people that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what you’ve been around… You can pull yourself out of any situation.” 

Mitchell left home right after graduating high school. He had no plan or vision of what his life would become; he was simply following the road wherever it took him. Unbeknownst to him, a mere five years later, Mitchell is the 16th ranked bareback rider in the International Pro Rodeo Association. 

Between various twists and turns in his life, as well as his body, Mitchell has pulled himself from beneath a bridge in the freezing Colorado winter—to on top of a one-ton kicking horse.

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Behind the Cowboy Culture

Written by Katie Stephens

Dirt crunching under your boots, the smell of barn animals and hay hits your nose as soon as you walk into the arena. Cowboys and cowgirls are decked out in hats, belts with sizable buckles, and the most fringe you’ve ever seen in one place. 

This isn’t just anywhere. This is the rodeo.

With an extensive family background of cowboys, a former competitor, Grant Parker is familiar with the rodeo scene. Starting Twisted Horn Rodeo Company out of Dalton, Ga. in 2022 proved to be a new experience in the vast world of horseback riding and rodeo competitions.

“It’s just a great environment to be around,” Parker said. “There’s always something exciting happening.” 

While there may not be a section for it in the Olympics, rodeo competitions are highly competitive and so are the athletes who compete in them. Most train five to seven days a week to keep themselves in peak condition for winning. 

Why would anyone subject themselves to the mentally, emotionally and physically daunting act of competing in a rodeo? For one reason: the love of the sport.

Luckily enough for these competitors, a monetary prize is awarded. Only the top three best cowboys and cowgirls of each section are gifted a cash prize. 

The funds to support the continuation of the rodeos are acquired and managed by companies whose sole goal is to arrange these rodeos into successful events. 

“It really takes time and secrets of the trade to organize a rodeo,” Parker said. “It can take months just to find sponsors, venues, and vendors for one event.” 

While Parker operates in the Southeastern region of the United States, cowboys travel from all across the country, some as far as Illinois, Kansas and even Washington to try their hand at various competitions. 

There are several different organizations a rider can participate in that inform them of upcoming events and tracks their losses and wins. The National Cowboy Association (NCA) and the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) are some of the accredited entities that cowboys are all too familiar with. 

As rodeo season is in full swing, many compete not only for cash prizes, but also for National and International rankings. Cowboys in the top 15 cash prize winners in the IPRA make up the International Finals Rodeo (IFR) that is held at the end of every rodeo season. 

At the end of a long ride, the cowboy jumps off the horse, throws his hat in the air, kicks up dirt and yells at the sky. He has just completed a wild feat, and he can’t wait to do it again.

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