Erica Singleton, right, reaches out toward a calf Saturday evening during the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. The event was held by the Southeastern Rodeo Association, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Reggie Smith has been around animals his entire life.
The Foristell native fondly recalls growing up on a farm, often tending to livestock and riding horses. “We had horses, chicken, pigs,” he said. “I've always been an animal type of guy.”
Smith, who coined the nickname "Sauce Boss" for his local line of hot sauces, has had a competitive itch his entire life, so eventually his work as a cowboy in rural St. Charles County let him to bull riding. The 50-year-old entered his first competition at 35 and called it quits when he turned 40 — until this year, when he noticed there wasn’t someone from St. Louis on the roster.
"I got to represent for the hometown, man," Smith said Saturday evening with a chuckle at the dirt entry to the competition ring at Chaifetz Arena. The smell of horses, leather and manure wafted through the air as he spoke to reporters before the start of the show. “Nobody else competed from St. Louis, so I had to compete."
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
Reggie Smith prepares for the start of the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena. Smith was one of a handful of cowboys competing in Saturday's rodeo who are native to St. Louis.
Smith is one of the dozens of competitors vying for the title of champion in the Southeastern Rodeo Association St. Louis Open Black Rodeo. The organization has prided itself in upkeeping the cowboy way of life and “upholding the important contributions African American cowboys played in helping tame the Old West.”
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
Bobby Edwards, left, buttons the shirt of his grandson Dallas James, 4, while they wait to enter the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. “He’s a cowboy freak. He loves cowboys,” Edwards said of his grandson, who was brought to St. Louis from Dallas to spend a few days with his grandfather and see the rodeo.
"This is something that you do 24/7," said Tim Walker, a 62-year-old rodeo vendor from Ridgeland, Mississippi, and brother of former Mississippi Democratic U.S. Rep. Kenneth Walker. "You don't be a cowboy 8 to 5, because you forever have to take care of your livestock, your tractors, your trailers ... so it's a lifestyle."
The contributions of Black cowboys have historically been minimized in pop culture, writes Katie Jodjimbadem for Smithsonian Magazine. Historians estimate that one in four cowboys were Black. Organizations like the Southeastern Rodeo Association aim to preserve Black cowboy history throughout the Midwest and Southeast.
A sold-out crowd of roughly 8,000 packed the stands to watch events including bronc riding, steer wrestling, calf roping and bull riding.
This weekend marked the organization's first time back to St. Louis since 2018. As the first bronc riding contestant went up to the chute, Chairman Barnett of Macomb, Illinois, screamed in excitement. “Ride it baby!” she exclaimed repeatedly as the arena burst into cheering. “I have never felt this energy before in my life. It’s way beyond what I expected.”
As Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey" and Lil Nas X's "Rodeo" boomed into the arena between acts, fans got up to dance in droves. Damita Williams, of O'Fallon, Missouri, who was attending her first rodeo, was heartened to see Black people participating in the “beauty” of rodeo.
“St. Louis is on the map today," said Williams, 52. "If they can come back to St. Louis again, I'll definitely be here again as well."
Open Black Rodeo celebrates decade of uplifting cowboy way of life
Listen to STLPR photojournalist Brian Munoz on "St. Louis on the Air."
Quentin Gavin, 51, looks back toward the horses in the rodeo’s return gate on Saturday during the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena. Gavin intended on competing in the rodeo but missed the deadline for competition. So he watched and worked from the gates and chutes just off the competition arena.
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
A cross hangs around the neck of Anthony Winston, one of the cowboys competing in the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. Winston said that when he put the cross on, he intentionally broke the clasp. “I can’t take it off,” he said. “I’ve had this on for three years.”
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
A cross hangs around the neck of Gregory “G-Man” Campbell, 64, while he waits to enter the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. The cross was a gift from his wife of 37 years, who died in March. The couple had four children and seven grandchildren, all of whom came to watch the rodeo Saturday night.
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
LEFT: Tevin Myles, one of the one of the bullriders competing in the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. “This was actually one of the first rodeos that I ever watched,” Myles said. “So it’s pretty cool that I actually get to ride in it now.” RIGHT: Jermey Bryant, 17, listens to rap artist YoungBoy Never Broke Again while waiting to enter the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. The event was Bryant’s third-ever rodeo.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Chardonnay Reed, 27, of Pagedale looks down at her daughter Tionna, 2, (not pictured), on Saturday during the 2023 St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena.
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
Anthony Winston, left, and Malik Rencher dance during the intermission of the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. Both cowboys were competing that night, having ridden in the bucking bronco category during the first half of the rodeo.
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
A stack of saddles is placed behind the return gate of the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. The last time the event was held in St. Louis was in 2018.
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis native Terry Heeler prepares to lasso a calf during the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. Heeler was competing in the steer wrestling completion, which has cowboys lasso the leg of a running calf, then dismount and tie the other three legs together so the calf cannot move.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Audience members throw their arms in the air while doing the wave on Saturday during the 2023 St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena in Midtown.
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
LEFT: L.J. Graves chases after a calf during the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena. Graves was competing in the Ladies Steer Undecorating event, wherein competitors must grab a ribbon from the back of the running calf. RIGHT: Dayquon Henderson is thrown from a bucking bronco during the rodeo. The event is believed to have originated in 1901, inspired by the skill of breaking a horse for use by cowboys or mounted military cavalry.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Jeadawn Cropp, 42; Keisha Wilson, 41; and Chanee Edwards, 42, all of Columbia, Mo., react while watching the 2023 St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena in Midtown.
Tristen Rouse
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St. Louis Public Radio
A cowboy walks with his horse before the start of the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena.
