Named for a pioneering cowboy athlete, the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo circuit feels more vital than ever after 40 years of sport and education.
On June 11, 1905, an audience of more than 60,000 people gathered on the northern plains of the Oklahoma Territory. The historic Miller Brothers 101 ranch invited the public to watch the debut of their new Wild West show, billed as “Oklahoma’s Gala Day.” The performance included an appearance by Geronimo (who shot a bison from a car), rodeo events, Native American sports, traditional dances, and a giant parade.
The popularity of the inaugural exhibition spurred a decades-long touring show — one that showcased Western entertainment greats of the time: Buffalo Bill, Lillian Smith, Tom Mix, and a talented performer named Bill Pickett. Born in 1870 in Texas, Pickett was the inventive Black Cherokee cowboy renowned for his creation of “bulldogging.” Pickett left school after 5th grade to start work as a ranchhand. An observant adolescent, he watched stock dogs — specifically bulldogs — mouth rogue cattle to unbalance them. Mimicking this technique, Pickett would leap from his horse, bite a steer’s mouth, and use his leverage to pull it to the ground. This approach (sans bite) was the precursor to modern-day steer wrestling.
Tory Johnson — who is currently recovering from a May injury — and Charles Barrett are two of the circuit’s talented steer wrestlers.
A sensation in his lifetime, Pickett traveled nationally and internationally as a rodeo performer and appeared in silent films including The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull. He was posthumously inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1989. But his transcendence into celebrity wasn’t without severe discrimination along the way. Promoted as the “Dusky Demon,” Pickett frequently had to lie about his race to be able to compete.
Though often underrepresented in popular culture, Black cowboys and cowgirls are an integral part of the history of the American West. During the heyday of range cowboys, following the Civil War to the turn of the 20th century, one in four cowboys was Black. The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR) continues to honor and promote this important legacy.
Created by the late Lu Vason in 1984 and now overseen by Valeria Howard-Cunningham (the only Black woman owner and promoter of a traveling rodeo circuit in the world), the rodeo is a competitive athletic event that also celebrates the history of Black cowboys and cowgirls, and provides educational opportunities for the public. “Nothing in our country has been built or developed without African Americans making significant contributions. It’s not something you’ll read in history books,” Cunningham says. “So, it becomes our responsibility to make sure we educate our communities and uplift those people who had a significant role in the development of the West, in the development of rodeo, and in the development of entertainment.”
The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo is now overseen by owner and president Valeria Howard-Cunningham.
Carrying The Banner
I like to tell the kids, ‘Whether you want to be the next Bill Pickett or the next Michael Jordan, whatever it is, just give 110 precent, and you’ll get 110 percent out of it.’
— Tory Johnson, 2007 Bill Pickett Rookie of the Year
In addition to classic rodeo events, the BPIR integrates the history of famed Black pioneers alongside Pickett, including Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves, or cattle-drive legend Bose Ikard — sometimes performing reenactments during the rodeo performance or at educational programs at local schools. Tory Johnson, a steer wrestler currently competing in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit, regularly travels to schools to teach kids about Black cowboys and the legacy of Bill Pickett. For Johnson, the opportunity to share this history isn’t only to celebrate the past, but to show the possibilities of the future: “I like to tell the kids, ‘Whether you want to be the next Bill Pickett or the next Michael Jordan, whatever it is, just give 110 percent, and you’ll get 110 percent out of it.’” It’s a fitting analogy for a highly decorated competitor with a robust athletic background. Johnson attended college on a rodeo scholarship, was the 2007 Bill Pickett Rookie of the Year, and holds seven Pickett steer-wrestling titles, five all-around titles, one calf-roping title, and one bull-riding title.
Bill Pickett was the inventive Black Cherokee cowboy renowned for his creation of “bulldogging.”
Born in Oklahoma and raised on a family ranch, Johnson comes from a long lineage of cowboys. His grandfather was a bareback rider, and his dad was a bull rider. “I was throwing a horse around at two years old,” he says. “I’m a third-generation cowboy. When my grandfather was young, he rode his horse to visit my grandmother. I’m the first in the family to rodeo professionally, but I plan on carrying the legacy — and hopefully, the next generation will do the same.”
When Johnson isn’t on the rodeo circuit, his nephews and cousins visit and assist him during his practices at the rodeo arena on his property. “They help me practice, whether it’s pushing the cattle up or opening the chutes. Anything they can do to help me, they will. They are right there in my pocket.” It’s a useful addition to Johnson’s intense training program. Practicing nearly every day, he emphasizes high-quality groundwork — the portion of the event where he is chute-dogging on foot — as well as training his horses. A typical day includes a gym workout in the morning, an afternoon session on foot, and then an evening practice on horseback.
Though training at home for an event can have solitary moments, the rodeos are incredibly familial. A bright example of this in the BPIR community is Denise Tyus. Tyus has been with the rodeo for over 30 years, serving in a multitude of roles from competitor to grand entry coordinator. As an athlete, she competes as a barrel racer and lady steer undecorator. The latter is an event created at the BPIR, and growing in popularity, in which a rider chases down a steer and pulls a ribbon off their shoulder.
A statue created by artist Lisa Perry honors Pickett in Fort Worth’s historic Stockyards district.
During her tenure, she has seen peers join the PRCA, appear in commercials and TV shows, and be hired to work as stunt riders. Tyus was even approached to be on the program Wife Swap, but she promptly declined. “Who would want to clean our stalls?” she says with a chuckle. For Tyus, though, the most remarkable part of the BPIR is the community (both her daughter and granddaughter compete with her). “We are there to work, but it’s also time together. It’s like a big family reunion,” she says. That community extends beyond the story of the Bill Pickett Rodeo; it’s a shared story of the history of the West. “We are a big old melting pot, and we have to learn about one another,” Tyus adds. “When we learn one another’s history and culture, we learn to celebrate each other.”
The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo is celebrating 40 years in operation this year. It is now a multigenerational event with an expanding list of competitors and spectators, and most importantly, it’s inspiring the next wave of cowboys and cowgirls.
For owner Howard-Cunningham, future rodeo generations are the heart of it all. “I saw a little 7-year-old boy in Memphis, Tennessee, walk up to the arena,” she says. “As he got closer, he paused, put his little hands on his hips, turned around, and said with pride, ‘I just can’t believe this. There really are Black cowboys and cowgirls.’”
Find more information, rodeo event schedules, and tickets at billpickettrodeo.com.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, Alamy
From our August/September 2024 issue.