Ernest Tooke Memorial Match Bronc Ride

There's a lot of noise outside a rodeo chute, but it's a TV playing in the other room, muffled and nonsensical unless you've seen this Eastwood flick before. The chute is tight; the rider and horse intimate, but it's not designed to last. A calm horse is easy to straddle but maybe she's playing coy. There's a faint lull in the other room; the yellow flag is up, the gate man has his rope and the rider leans back and, if he's going to win, makes the only decision he'll get for the next eight seconds: the nod.

Seventeen match bronc riders, 10 ranch bronc riders and three youth steer riders gave t...