MARCH 3, 2024 GRACE EBERT

Rodney & RJ, McCalla, Alabama. All images © Ivan McClellan, courtesy of Damiani

The book comprises 118 photos by Ivan McClellan, who’s spent nearly a decade documenting the lives of the Black rodeo community.

In 1982, Charles Sampson became the first Black man to win the world championship bull-riding competition. Becoming a cowboy was his childhood dream, and despite breaking nearly every bone in his body during his relatively long career, Sampson continued to climb atop the ornery animals and bolt into the arena. Even after an incredibly tough ride, he was known to vault himself off of the bull and land on his feet. He feels, to be cliché, that he was born to ride.

But there’s nothing cliché about Sampson’s story. As he writes in the introduction to the forthcoming book Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture, “Every year there are fewer Black cowboys in America as the population ages, and young Black people believe the western lifestyle isn’t for them.”

Published by Damiani, Eight Seconds comprises 118 images by Ivan McClellan, a Portland, Oregon-based photographer who’s spent nearly a decade documenting the lives, wins, and losses of the Black rodeo community from Alabama to Los Angeles. He offers an insider’s view, capturing the addictive energy of the sport and the rich sense of camaraderie it fosters.

“I didn’t expect for this work to take over my life and become a passion/obsession for the better part of a decade,” McClellan tells Colossal, sharing a sentiment not unlike that of the people he photographs. “I kept going where I was useful and needed, and this book is a love letter to the culture that has transformed my life.”Patrick Liddell, Las Vegas, Nevada

The slim volume is packed with a mix of portraits and candid, action shots that evidence the range of emotions within a single day of rodeo life. McClellan visits the teenage sensation Kortnee Solomon at her family’s ranch in Texas and a beaming rodeo queen in Okmulgee. He also photographs the Compton Cowboys, a collective devoted to bettering the lives of inner-city kids through equestrian training. “I’ve stood in front of a charging bull, walked through snake-infested fields, and laid on the ground while horses ran past me all to get a good photo,” he says. “Getting the shot is more important to me than my fear.”

McClellan self-published Eight Seconds in 2022—the title, of course, references the eight wild seconds riders must stay on their animals, one hand in the air, to score points—and the forthcoming edition adds to the original. Together, the photos unveil a firmly rooted ethos of care for both the animals and each other. “I’ve learned that Black cowboys treat you like a family member until you prove yourself unworthy of their trust. Sacrifice is required to live the cowboy lifestyle. I’ve seen cowboys go hungry so they could afford to feed their horse or get their cell phone cut off to pay for rodeo fees,” he says.[…]

Marland Burke, Brandon Alexander, James Pickens Jr., Los Angeles, California

More: ‘Eight Seconds’ Is Photographer Ivan McClellan’s Love Letter to Black Rodeo Culture — Colossal