Nigel Malone, First Rodeo (PEOPLE 2024)

I've come to learn a lot about rodeos. Boots, tucked shirt, and cowboy hat are all, of course, de rigueur. I've not seen animals suffer, but plenty of humans. It's a tough, unforgiving sport with none of the niceties of most, such as changerooms with ice baths and physio to take the pain away. Instead, these part gladiator, part entertainers, receive nor expect nothing more than the raw earth upon which they stand to ply their craft. In these places, beneath the stalls of the arena, wedged between the chute and stock pens, many of my photographs were taken. I thank all the subjects for accepting me in their domain, many in a moment of focus before entering their colosseum, others staring straight through my lens as if I was not there. This junior competitor was a classic example.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.