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Photo essay: 8 Seconds Rodeo ignites Philadelphia with grit and glory

Cowboys, competition, and culture.
Bull rider Au’vion Horton celebrates after one of his runs in the bull riding event at the 8 Seconds Rodeo.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

After hosting the event on the West Coast for two years, 8 Seconds Rodeo founder Ivan McClellan hauled 2 million pounds of dirt into the Liacouras Center for the city’s first “radically Black rodeo.” Bull riders, bareback bronco straddlers, and barrel racers from California to rural Pennsylvania came to Philly to compete for $60,000 in prize money. Thousands, dressed in cowboy hats, working boots, and Western-inspired wear, stood on their feet to watch the athletic feats. - Earl Hopkins