Van Horn's Junior Rodeo

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The Junior Rodeo is one of my favorite annual events in Van Horn.

The kids are tough, fast and fearless, and marshal power well beyond the size of their small frames. They're serious; this is more about work than play. Yet layered underneath the toughness, there's a tender earnestness that is utterly charming.

The intense heat of the afternoon wore out, and the temperature was comfortable by the time the calf roping began. It was the best of the three annual Junior Rodeo's I've attended in Van Horn, lovely sky, and beautiful evening light.

This was a 4H rodeo, and I was struck by the difference between these kids and the ones in Iowa showing animals at the county fair. In Iowa, the kids are open and earnest, their emotions easily read on their faces. The rodeo kids--boys and girls--were more strong than tough. They carried a veneer of determination and power about them, though deep within they were as earnest as the Iowans. Only one kid was able to step aside from his work and engage me with a smile. Another knew I was there shooting, and while he didn't acknowledge me, he was definitely performing for the camera with his lasso.

The girls were feminine and tough, the older ones wearing perfect makeup far more tastefully applied than I've seen, say....in figure skaters. The littlest girls wore a lot of pink, as did their horses. I loved these girls; they were both strong and feminine.

The littlest boy in the photos still had diapers on underneath his jeans. He'll be competing in a few years, I'm sure of it.