Rodeos & Horses

Took some pictures at the Dogpound Rodeo on July 16th, 2014.  I photographed this rodeo a couple of years ago and got some really great shots.  I do enjoy these smaller rodeos as you can get closer in - it is a much more intimate setting.  That being said, it is the roughest time of day to shoot - middle of the day - it was very hot and sunny and the sun straight up.  Making shooting conditions were pretty contrasty but ... the dust was great for pictures. Not so great for camera equipment!

Not much information online about this rodeo. (If anyone from the Dogpound Rodeo is reading this, I would love to hear from you.  Email me. )

Takes me about 45-50 minutes up(north) Highway 22 from Calgary.  As always, some of the best horsemen to be seen are the pick-up riders -  these are the cowboys that catch the broncos that have dumped their riders.  Watching these guys ride at a full gallop beside a bucking horse that does not want to be caught to get him or her calmed down is a spectacular event all of its own.  Definitely one of my favourite parts of any rodeo.

If you are wondering about the name 'Dogpound' - A 'pound' was a place, usually a cliff, where buffalo were driven to their deaths.  Sometimes the dogs herding them would get caught up with the buffalo and over the cliff they went to their deaths as well.

Hope you like the pictures: