Bull’s eye

The bucking, kicking bull and the cowboy holding on one-handed—this is probably the most iconic image of rodeo, a sporting event that’s virtually synonymous with the American West. But what happens to those bulls leading up to that moment? RN&R photographer Nick Higman spent the first few days of the Reno Rodeo getting down and dirty with the Taurean contestants. From the cud-chewing tranquility of the pasture to the blood-pumping, manure-stomping eight seconds of excitement in the arena, here’s the “Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West” from the perspective of its most infamous participants—rodeo through the bull’s eye.