Sports

Bares, Broncs and Bulls

We just got back from hanging out with a bunch of Navajo cowboy folks from Triple B Association—a bronc & bull riding league catering to the Indian community of the American Southwest. Over the course of a week, we tailed several of the Association’s best and up-and-coming riders from across New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. We take a peek into their incredible lives—from training for, traveling to and from, and competing in rodeos to hanging on the rez, dealing with fam, and just trying to make ends meet in some of the most impoverished parts of the country.

As it’s received more and more mainstream exposure over the years, bull and bronc riding has become a big-buck industry, but at the level these young Navajo compete in the winnings are low, the press is scarce, and the risks of just getting in the saddle every day are terrifying.