Jack Sorokinjack@jacksorokin.com
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Rodeo Boys

Personal series · Published in Stern, WNC Magazine and Our State

31 photographs

I’ve been photographing the Madison County Championship Rodeo since 2017, a mountaintop arena in Western North Carolina, on Saturday nights. The series is about masculinity, vulnerability and the older riders teaching the younger ones.

Published in Stern, WNC Magazine and Our State. Featured by The Independent Photographer, where Praying #2 took third prize in the 2021 Open Call. A frame from the series was selected for American Photography 39 (2023).

The Stern story
The WNC Magazine story
The Our State story
The Independent Photographer feature
2021 Open Call results
American Photography 39

A young rider in a straw cowboy hat looks down, evening sky behind him, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
01
A man in a vest sits on the arena fence with a cigarette, one arm raised, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
02
A rider in a caged helmet covers his face with his hands as someone rests a hand on his head, a flag behind them, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
03
A young rider kneels in prayer behind the chutes, hat in hand, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
04
Extreme close-up of a young rider's grin, blood on his lips and teeth, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
05
A young man in a green shirt and cowboy hat stands among other riders' hats, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
06
A rider holding his hat walks through the crowd by the arena gate at sunset, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
07
A rider's eye seen through the bars of the chute, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
08
Two cowboys sit on the fence rail at dusk, watching the arena, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
09
A teenage boy in a camo tank top and straw hat holds a rope in the parking lot, trucks and stadium lights behind, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
10
Two young boys in western shirts stand arm in arm in front of the red pens, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
11
A couple sits side by side on a rail, his striped shirt beside her leopard print top, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
12
A young cowboy in a dark shirt stands in front of other riders by the pens at dusk, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
13
A small boy in chaps sits by the chutes while a horse and rider pass in the arena behind him, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
14
Close-up of a bullfighter's face paint, a white star across one cheek and a small red cross on the chin, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
15
A horse looks out between the bars of a red pen, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
16
A young rider with curly hair under a straw hat squints into the low sun, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
17
Two men in blue shirts and cowboy hats stand together by the pens, one in chaps, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
18
Riders lean over the chute rail under the stadium lights, one in a protective vest, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
19
A cowboy stands in the dirt arena at dusk as an animal runs loose behind him, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
20
A group of young riders and kids wait together behind the chutes, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
21
A shirtless man leans on a green metal gate in the livestock pens, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
22
Close-up of a young rider's clasped hands, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
23
A young man with curly hair and a plaid shirt stands at night, a strap across his chest, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
24
An older man in overalls sits among stacks of cowboy hats at a vendor tent, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
25
A rider adjusts his hat behind the chutes, seen through the rails in hazy light, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
26
A lone cowboy sits on a bench against a metal building, phone to his ear, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
27
A man helps a young rider strap on his protective vest by the pens at night, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
28
A young rider in a protective vest coils his rope against a deep blue night sky, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
29
A teenage rider in a maroon shirt with a mouthpiece between his teeth, pens behind him at night, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
30
A rider with a bandage over one eye leans on a gate at night, straw hat and western shirt, Madison County rodeo, North Carolina.
31

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Based in Brooklyn. Available for assignments.

jack@jacksorokin.com