The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo returned to Fort Worth this weekend with more than 200 competitors.
The rodeo association was created as an all-Black touring rodeo 39 years ago by Lu Vason, the late husband of the association’s current president and owner Valeria Howard Cunningham. The idea was sparked by a visit to a rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
“While he was there, he noticed there were no Black cowboys or black cowgirls. It just piqued his interest,” Howard Cunningham said Saturday. “He came back and did a lot of studying and found out there were thousands of Black cowboys and cowgirls, but they didn’t get the opportunity to compete in rodeo.”
Saturday’s shows at the Cowtown Colosseum by the Fort Worth Stockyards kicked off the 2023 Texas Connection Series. Contestants ranged from as young as 3 years old to those on the senior levels.Sign up for NBC DFW newslettersMacie Davis, 9, traveled from Louisiana to compete Saturday. Davis has been involved with the sport of rodeo since she was about 3 years old.
“I just want to have fun and ride my horse here,” Davis said. “I enjoy my horse, Star. She’s really fun. She’s nice, sometimes. I just hope I don’t knock any barrels down. Promising.” The shows Saturday are expected to be nearly sold out, according to Howard Cunningham. Some spectators are visiting Fort Worth to experience rodeo for the first time.
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