Photographs
by Joanne Berghold

Introduction
by Kim Zupan

Published by the Museum of New Mexico Press in association with
the Center for American Places

The blood thrum of small-town rodeo is preserved in every starkly beautiful image, evoking the scent of penned horses and sage crushed under the tires
of trucks, the roar of bulls battering loading chutes with their blunted horns, the squawk of rosined leather.

- Kim Zupan

mall town rodeos are family-centered celebrations…not merely just a sport, but a way of life. They are not about big corporate sponsors, but parents and grandparents teaching their children and grandchildren how to ride and rope; how to be good winners and gracious losers.

The photographs in “Montana Hometown Rodeo” capture the genuine spirit of the traditions handed down through the generations. They showcase the camaraderie, the behind-the-scenes activities, the rewards and the hard knocks.

The book captures people doing what they love out of celebration, not professionalism, people whose lives cannot be separated from the dramatically beautiful land and harsh climate in which they work and play.


"Rodeo, when I was a kid in southeastern Oregon, was a ranchland and small town affair - all the generations come together from miles around for a sweet, reckless time. Joanne Berghold has got it dead right!"

William Kittredge, author "Owning It All"


"Joanne Berghold's Montana Hometown Rodeo is a stunning book that reminds us of a way of life that seems to be slowly slipping away from us. You must buy this book so you will remember it."

Jim Harrison, author "Legends of the Fall"






Clothbound: $32.50 ISBN: 0-89013-469-3

128 pages, 10 3/4 x 9 1/4 • 80 duotones






All images ©2010 Joanne Berghold.