Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture

Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture, Photographs by Ivan McClellan, offers an inside look at Black cowboy culture across the United States in the 21st century. In 2015, photographer Ivan McClellan attended the Roy LeBlanc Invitational in Oklahoma, the country’s longestrunning Black rodeo, at the invitation of Charles Perry, director and producer of The Black Cowboy. Over the next decade, McClellan embarked on a journey across the nation, crafting a multi-layered look at contemporary Black rodeo culture for the new book, Eight Seconds.

Whether photographing teen cowgirl sensation Kortnee Solomon at her family’s Texas stables, capturing bull riding champion Ouncie Mitchell in action, or kicking it with the Compton Cowboys at their Los Angeles ranch, McClellan chronicles the extraordinary athletes who keep the magic and majesty of the “Old West” alive with high-octane displays of courage, strength, and skill. The book’s title refers to the sport of bull riding — athletes must stay on a bull for eight seconds while it bucks and the more hectic the ride, the higher they score. Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture, Photographs by Ivan McClellan creates a bridge between present and past through sports, community, and love of the land.