Jeffrey Anderson

Coming of age on a horse is still a reality. Agile, intense, aware boys and girls become young men and women. Somehow distinct from a football or baseball player, a high school rodeo rider and their horse display a team wisdom and fortitude distinct from other athletes. Before the unlikely chance of joining the ranks of the Pro Rodeo, high school rodeo riders work on their family’s farms and go to classes. They save for saddles, endlessly train with their horses and work to hone courage for a test that is as beautiful as it is brutal. The connection between a man, woman and horse is as visceral as it is telepathic. Years ago my dad and I went to one. We never forgot it.