Striking Photos Go Inside America’s Only Touring Black Rodeo Competition

Named after the legendary cowboy Bill Pickett, the rodeo was first held in Denver in 1984. It was created by Lu Vason, a promoter and producer who was interested in forming an all-black rodeo after he noticed the lack of racial representation at other rodeos in the West. Vason, who died in 2015, helped to build BPIR alongside his wife, Valeria Howard-Vason, who serves as the organization’s current president and, for the last 33 years, has helped to host rodeo shows in cities across the country.

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