Southern Soul Rodeo Honors Legacy Of The Black Cowboy In Tunica

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The Ruthless Ryderz, founded in 2018, boasts members from across multiple states who continue the tradition of the Black rodeo. The group organizes rodeos in multiple areas, including the inaugural Southern Soul Black Invitational Rodeo in Tunica, Miss., on May 21, 2022. Photo by Kishka Johnson / courtesy Ruthless Ryderz

Southern Soul Rodeo Honors Legacy Of The Black Cowboy In Tunica

TORSHETA JACKSON
MAY 18, 2022

Zachary White raced out into the arena on his horse, dust swirling around the 10-year-old as the animal’s hooves pounded the red dirt and his hat blew off his head. White swung the rope around his head as he eyed the calf he was chasing. With a swift throw, he tossed the lasso at the calf’s neck. The braided fibers missed and landed in the dirt just short of his quarry. White and his horse trotted back into the stall as the judge called “no time” for the ride.



Zachary White, a 17-year-old member of the Ruthless Ryderz, has regularly participated in rodeo competitions as a calf roper since his first rodeo at age 10 in Grenada, Miss. Photo courtesy Zachary White

“At first, I felt nervous. I’d never been in that type of environment, and things go real fast in rodeo,” White said of his first rodeo seven years ago. “Then I was pretty sad, but sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t have a good run. That’s part of the rodeo.”

White’s participation in the 2015 Roy Lee Watts Rodeo in Grenada, Miss. was actually his first time as a participant. The Memphis native has been a self-made cowboy since age 6. He saw his first rodeo, the Bill Pickett Invitational in Memphis, when he was 7 years old.

“I’m a first-generation cowboy,” White said. “What really got me into horses is that when I was 6, I had a birthday party. I always talked about horses and roping and rodeo, and my mom had a lady come out with a petting zoo.”

{snip}



William “Bill” Pickett, an inductee of both the National Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy, invented the technique called bulldogging, now known as steer wrestling. Photo courtesy North Fort Worth Historical Society

{snip}



Tyrone Brown Sr. (pictured, center) serves as one of the Ruthless Ryderz’ leaders and imparts his knowledge on the Black rodeo legacy to his two daughters, pictured here at either side of him. Photo by Kishka Johnson / courtesy Ruthless Ryderz

{snip}

Torsheta Jackson
Torsheta Jackson is a freelance writer who is passionate about telling the unique and personal stories of the people, places and events in Mississippi. The Shuqualak, Miss., native holds a B.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Mississippi. She has had bylines on Bash Brothers Media, Mississippi Scoreboard and in the Jackson Free Press. Torsheta lives in Richland, Miss., with her husband, Victor, and two of their four children.