Every Fourth of July, Livingston, Montana fills up for the Livingston Roundup Rodeo. Its roots go back to the 1920s, and it has been a professional rodeo since 1952. Today it is one of the stops on the busy run of Fourth of July rodeos cowboys call Cowboy Christmas.
These photos are from the final night, July 4, 2021, from the last light of the evening to the bulls under the arena lights.
Out of the chutes
Bronc riders have eight seconds to stay on, one hand on the rein and the other in the air. From the chutes it is all mud, noise and timing.
Speed and rope
Between the roughstock events come the timed ones: barrel racing, tie-down roping and steer wrestling, where tenths of a second decide the night.
Under the lights
As darkness fell, the trick riders came out, standing on two horses at a full gallop, and finally between flaming torches.
The main event
The night closes with the bulls. When a rider goes down, the bullfighters step in to draw the bull away.
