A Bronc Rider Beats the Buzzer at the Jim Bowie Days Rodeo in North Texas

While taking photographs this summer for “Fight or Flight,” Dave Shafer visited the Jim Bowie Days Rodeo and Celebration in Bowie, between Wichita Falls and Fort Worth. Shafer was taking portraits of rodeo contestants when the sun descended behind the clouds, and he turned his attention to the arena. “The sun and clouds were my heroes at this moment,” Shafer says. “The crowd was full and excited. I just needed some compelling action.” Fortunately, the ranch bronc riders rose to the occasion. Shafer captured this cowboy as he was closing in on the 8-second buzzer, which marks the minimum time a rider must stay on the bronc to get a score. The rodeo is held annually at the Bowie Rodeo Arena during the last full week of June.