ProRodeo Sports News - May 18, 2018

BEHIND THE CHUTE

through the European Rodeo Cowboys Association. While competing, she started taking photographs of the competitions for fun around 1991 or 1992. Not long after that, she was back inWyoming working for the Navy at Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days and was allowed to shoot from the photographer’s pit. By 2003, Scofield had her PRCA photographer’s card. She has shot the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo three times (2014-16). Why do you photograph rodeos? When I competed and took pictures, I fell in love with the way rodeo works. It’s the attitude, the guys would come up and help, and these are guys you are competing against. There’s no other sport like that. It’s the people that have drawn me to rodeo and to stay in rodeo. I belong to a group calledWarriors and Rodeo. They understand what it’s like when the person working with you is the reason you may live or die, it’s not just someone sitting next to you in an office. What was happening before this photo was taken? Branden Allen Edwards was bucked off pretty much in front of the bull, and the

At left, bullfighter Darrell Diefenbach protects Branden Allen Edwards at Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days in 2007. Above, Eva Scofield poses with her dog, Sunny.

he is wearing red. If it were a white bull, it might not have been as pretty, but it all just came together. What were some reasons why you wanted to submit this photo? It’s always been one of my favorites. If I could get a picture like that at every rodeo I would be ecstatic. That’s the first really, really good bullfighting picture I got because of the lighting and everything else. I really get into it, I’m not just taking pictures, I am rooting for the guys – there’s nothing cooler than getting Billy Etbauer going all out with the bronc kicking over his head. It feels like I want to compete against myself – like the cowboys – and I’ve disappointed someone if I don’t get a good picture of them, and I really want to get it. I want to give him an opportunity to have something to hang on his wall. How has your photography developed over time? I looked at those pictures from quite a few years ago and said, ‘Oh, man, I sucked.’ There are pictures where our rides sucked too and didn’t compare to the ProRodeo cowboys. Since I started, my timing is better and I shoot when the horse kicks. If I am at a rodeo where the guys aren’t as good, I might do it when the feet are out in the front, but at the NFR I will shoot when the horse kicks, so he’ll want the picture. Some rodeos have weekend warriors, but they are still participating in rodeo and it’s nice to have it at their level, and the fans get a show.

picture tells the whole thing. Darrell Diefenbach was there, and there was no way to keep the bull from plowing him (Edwards) but by jumping in front of him, and that exemplifies how the military is, too. Guys jump on grenades and it costs them their life to save their buddy’s (life). I have a lot of respect for bullfighters, to lay down your life for your brother – there’s no greater love than this, but it exemplifies how we do things in the military, too. Why does this picture still hold so much sentimental value? It represents rodeo with guys helping each other, the bullfighters looking out for the cowboys. It represents the spirit of rodeo and how people treat each other and help each other. In your professional opinion, what makes this photo so interesting? It has a lot of color and action in it, and fortunately Cheyenne is a daylight rodeo. It’s harder to get that picture with strobes, and back then I didn’t have strobes. It’s got a lot going on and the message is there, and the colors, because

ProRodeo Sports News 5/18/2018

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