The British Rodeo Cowboy Association is a small group of riders who are based around Britain and follow the style and culture of western riding. Most have worked on ranches in America and Canada, gaining insight into what it is like to be a real working cowboy or cowgirl.
The British Rodeo Cowboy Association was set up in 1998 as the only organisation in Great Britain that caters for all western riding disciplines. The riders created the association so that they could relive the freedom and work that they found so exhilarating in America and bring it back to Britain. Other organisations set out to specialise in one form of western riding competition or another but the British Rodeo Cowboy Association is the only association where members are encouraged to try all aspects of the sport – from working with cattle through Reining, all the show classes to Barrel Racing and other mounted games.
The association has created a subculture of western riders in the UK, inspiring the younger generation to take up the life style of a working cowboy or cowgirl. They have become so engrained within the American way of life that they have started farming and herding cattle across Bodmin moor and Dartmoor, instead of using modern farm machinery. This project looks into the lives of the riders and the events that they attend to identify western riding in U.K.
Maisie Marshall is a documentary photographer working between London and Cornwall. Her social documentary work explores how photography can be used as a tool to help reinforce a bigger impact for her subjects. While she also works on more lighthearted documentary projects that explore British peoples identity with society through unexpected hobbies.