Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Days

Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Days

Bill Frakes/SI

Dan Cathcart goes down with his cap during the 112th Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Bill Frakes/SI

The event included 40 cowboys who competed for $1 million in prize money.

Bill Frakes/SI

The Cheyenne Frontier Days have been going on for 112 years and include art festivals, concerts and some of the toughest cowboys around.

Bill Frakes/SI

In bareback bronc, the rider holds on for dear life with only a suitcase handle-like rigging made of leather and rawhide for him to grasp onto.

Bill Frakes/SI

The calves have a 30-foot head start before the rider tries to complete the three steps faster than any of the other contestants.

Bill Frakes/SI

One cowboy slides off backwards

Bill Frakes/SI

Wes Kleven competes in bareback riding.

Bill Frakes/SI

Priority number one is getting the job done as quickly as possible.

Bill Frakes/SI

This cowboy wrestles his steer to the ground.

Bill Frakes/SI

Because of the expected media coverage, the organizers of the event asked that media wear "long-sleeved button-down or western shirts, long pants, boots and a western hat while present in the photo pit."

Bill Frakes/SI

Bareback rider Evan Jayne of Marseille, France, tries to hold on.

Bill Frakes/SI

Tickets ranged from $13 to $18 to see the rodeo action.

Bill Frakes/SI

This cowboy loses his hat behind a bucking bronco during competition.

Bill Frakes/SI

Jeremy Shed of Holdenville, Okla., holds on before taking an ugly spill a few seconds later.