Cave Creek Rodeo Finals 29 March 2015

The Future of Rodeo!

I was happy to photograph yet another Cave Creek (Arizona) Rodeo finals.  This is one of the top five best small professional rodeos in the United States.  Every seat is a good one.  I like sitting at the very top row.  That way, nobody complains when I stand to take a photo.  I sat “center stage” high enough to give me a great vantage point. 

Leon Coffee, Rodeo Clown... and he was GOOD!

One of the Compton Cowboys

A movie crew was in town to film “Fire on the Hill: The Compton Cowboys” about some hard charging cowboys (Ghuan, Chris, and Calvin) from Compton, California, not really known for being a hotbed of rodeo talent.  But those fellows competed.  This is an interesting story so make sure you check out the link above.  I wish the film project well!

The other story line was the rodeo clown, Luke "Leon" Coffee, a Hall of Fame inductee, actor, and Vietnam veteran.  He was funny, too!

Rick and Callista

Of course we think of the cowboy and cowgirl athletes at these events.  But let’s not forget the animal athletes!  This years stock, like the last few years, supplied by the Cervi Brothers. 

And this year, I brought two rodeo newbies with me, Arizona Wildcat softball great Callista Balko and her fiancé Wildcat football great Rick Elmore.  I think they both know what great athletes compete in rodeos.  These folks often haul their animals with them, pay the entrance fee, and if they make one mistake or have an animal not compete, they are out of the money and have to move on to the next rodeo.  Also note that only the bull riders seem to wear helmets.  This is a dangerous sport. 

Barrel Racing... the ladies turn!

I shot with my Canon 5D Mark III and this time with one lens, the Canon 70-300mm.  I found where I was sitting I could pretty much stay at 200mm.  I shot mostly f/16 at ISO400, AI Servo/fast continuous.  I ended up with nearly 500 photos but you will see just a portion of that. 

Thrown from the Bull... a dangerous sport

I do hope you enjoy… Next up for me is shooting the North Valley Relay for Life located on the Paradise Valley Community College campus on April 10th.


Until My Next Adventure,


See You On Down The Road!


Jim Patterson





Here are all the photos from the Cave Creek Rodeo!