The world’s leading bull riding organization and all-Black rodeo are now partners, ready to shine a light on a largely forgotten past and recreate new history.
A new alliance between PBR (Professional Bull Riders) and the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR) will create new events and opportunities for the largest and longest-running rodeo celebrating Black cowboys.
PBR will co-produce and co-market BPIR events that will take place alongside competition in PBR’s top two U.S. tours in select markets.
The rodeo events paired with the PBR Unleash The Beast and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour – similar to how PBR tag teams on some weekends with WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) – will be offered for television broadcast.
Additionally, working with WCRA, PBR will create new qualification opportunities for Black rodeo athletes at WCRA events, including its new Women’s Rodeo World Championship (WRWC), which is returning to Las Vegas in November.
“We are thrilled to partner with the largest and longest-running touring African American rodeo celebrating Black cowboys and cowgirls and their contributions to the American west,” said PBR Commissioner and CEO Sean Gleason.
“We are proud to play a role in keeping essential, underappreciated Black cowboy traditions alive, helping develop the next generation of champion cowboys, and bringing the sport of rodeo to a new generation of fans.”
“The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo is extremely excited about our partnership with the PBR as we continue to connect our communities with rodeo, to tell the stories of Black cowboys and cowgirls and to showcase the skills and contributions of these athletes being made today,” said Valeria Howard-Cunningham, President of BPIR
“This alliance allows us to elevate BPIR and to offer more Americans the opportunity to experience a BPIR rodeo in person and through television. I am excited about our future as we continue to educate audiences by telling our own story, entertaining audiences and touching the lives in our community through the BPIR rodeo.”
The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo began in 1984, named for famous rodeo “bulldogger” Bill Pickett (1870-1932), who was the first African American inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame and is credited with helping to bridge the racial divide at the end of the Civil War in 1865. BPIR thought it important to pay homage to Bill Pickett and make his name more prevalent by making him the namesake of their rodeo.
Pickett was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave.
He left school in the fifth grade in Texas to become a ranch hand and invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of springing from his horse, grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground.
Pickett would become known for his tricks and stunts at local country fairs, and with his four brothers, he formed The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association. The Pickett name soon became synonymous with successful rodeos.
In 1905, Pickett joined the 101 Ranch Wild West Show that featured popular cowboys, including Buffalo Bill and Will Rogers, and would soon tour around the world and star in early motion pictures.
“It is fitting that a progressive Western sports organization such as the PBR has partnered with a brand that has carried on a rich and otherwise often ignored and forgotten tradition of the most iconic Black cowboy of all-time, Bill Pickett,” said Keith Ryan Cartwright, author of the forthcoming book Black Cowboys of Rodeo: Unsung Heroes from Harlem to Hollywood and the American West.
“Standing shoulder to shoulder, the PBR is in a position to help the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo gain the one thing it’s deserved since Lu Vason founded the organization in 1984—the recognition of a mainstream audience.”
In 1977, during Wyoming’s Cheyenne Frontier Days, Lu Vason’s interest turned toward rodeo after his curiosity was aroused when he noted the absence of Black cowboys and cowgirls participating that day.
Over the next couple of years, Vason, a leader in the entertainment community, did his research and found thousands of Black Western sports athletes across the country lacking the opportunity to showcase their talents. Vason was convinced that the time had come to uncover the cultural past of the Black cowboy.
In 1984, he created an all-Black rodeo association named after Pickett. After Vason’s passing in 2015, his wife, Valeria Howard-Cunningham, began working to keep the legacy alive. She created a detailed strategic direction for BPIR, centering on the importance of a first-class African American rodeo tour.
“Valeria and her team have done a phenomenal job long before PBR came along,” said Kosha Irby, CMO, PBR. “This is an alignment of two brands to grow rodeo and create more opportunities for Western sports athletes.”
Irby is hopeful a paired PBR-BPIR event can be scheduled later in the season, cautioning that COVID restrictions will dictate where and when the partnership can launch its first event.
The Bill Pickett Invitation Rodeo is entering its 37th year of educating, entertaining and connecting communities across the US.
“More than ever, it’s important for all of us to set examples, create visions and provide opportunities for kids and young adults to understand the history as well as the purpose of BPIR, and to create new history,” Howard-Cunningham said.
The model PBR has created with WCRA has already shown to be successful in elevating rodeo and its athletes.
Since launching in May of 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $8,500,000 in new money to rodeo athletes. Several WCRA rodeos have appeared on network television, bringing the sport back to free TV.
“The PBR understood our passion, and it aligned with theirs,” Howard-Cunningham said. “There’s so much good that can come out of this.”
