Unfortunately right after this shot,the bull came down hard and broke it's leg,falling on the rider.This was something you seldom see in rodeo.At the time as I was shooting I thought the bull had simply lost balance somehow and fallen.It wasn't until several shots later did I realize this bull was in distress.I will not show any of those shots here or anywhere else.I and another photographer were approached by two of the sanctioned photographers demanding we give them our memory cards from our cameras or erase all images in front of them.We were also threatened by them and some rodeo officials that we could be sued if we were to publish any of those photos and were also threatened with expulsion from this & future rodeo events.I understand the desire not to have images of animals in distress ending up in the hands of animal rights advocates which would further their cause to ban activities like this.None of us go to a rodeo hoping to see any person or animal getting hurt.There are lots of thrills in this sport and yes it is dangerous,but these participants are all trained athletes.It is not in the best interest of rodeo stock providers to have their animals hurt or killed.To my untrained eye,I see great love coming from these providers and all other rodeo participants for these animals.It's hard to separate a cowboy from his horse right?
I had no intention to undermine the sport of rodeo but do find it interesting seeing the power that has been given the few santioned rodeo photogs.No one else can publish for profit or display images from any of these professional rodeo events that they are involved in.Really brings up the subject or when can we take a photo and can we publish it?Oh by the way,we did not give them our memory cards as you can see,nor did we delete photos.I'm sure others have had issues with regard to ownership and rights in this and many other venues.
I do hope to be back shooting rodeos again next year as I enjoy the event a lot so we'll see.