Behind the Chutes: The Mystique of the Rodeo Cowboy

Glynn A. Leyshon is a professor of physical education at the University
of Western Ontario, a former weekly columnist for the London Free Press
and author of 18 Sporting Stories.

Behind the Chutes is a fascinating collection of black-and-white photos
of rodeo life. While many of the photos are exactly what one would
expect—classic shots of cowboys being thrown from broncos, roping
calves, and wrestling steers—many more show them being bandaged,
preparing their gear, relaxing with friends and family, and sleeping.
Norbury has captured the basics of rodeo showmanship and all its
unglamorous daily functions without destroying the mythical quality of
rodeo performance.

The pictures in this collection are not casual snapshots, but artful
compositions, wonderfully balanced, and so rich in impact that one can
smell the stable smells and feel the churned soil of the arena
underfoot. Somehow the depiction of a line of cowhands lugging their
saddles across the tarmac to a rented plane to fly to the next go-round
does not appear anachronistic through Norbury’s lens. The romance of
cowboy life is alive and well and beautifully endorsed in this book.