A rider is bucked off at the Saddle Bronc at the Líl̓wat Nation Rodeo. Mt. Currie BC. BTW – Don’t worry about the horse, he landed on his hooves and galloped off, which is more than I could say about the rider.
I’ve been going up to what’s now known as the Lil’wat Nation Rodeo since I was a little kid, but it’s probably been fifteen or twenty years since the last time I got up to it. Traditionally held on the Victoria Day may long weekend, usually a busy time for me, but since I’m somewhat semi retired these days and had some time on my hands, I thought I roll up and check out the scene. It’s not what you’d think of a modern commercial rodeo, most (but not all) of the riders are part of the local indigenous bands along Lillooet Lake, and mostly amateur or are younger kids. One of the top barrel racers was only nine years old. It’s hosted by the Lil’wat Nation, a few kilometres east of Pemberton BC. The first thing I noticed was that event has grown over the years, apparently something like 5,000 people had come to see the action on Saturday, a new box office record for the event. I actually had some trouble finding a place to shoot from. I finally found a spot by one of the exit gates and quickly found a crowd about ten deep behind me.
The Saddle Bronc.
Calf Roping.
Competitors getting ready.
Competitors at the 2026 Líl̓wat Nation Rodeo.
Rodeo visitors trying to pull a ribbon off the tail of cow during the Cow Scramble.
The junior under-10 barrel racing competition.
A rodeo cowboy leads his daughter during the junior under-10 barrel racing competition.
The junior barrel racing competition.
Technical Stuff
I shot every thing with my two Nikon Z6 cameras. To be honest, the Z6 struggles to handle the acton, especially with it moving so fast and being so close. I want to do more of this work, so I bit the bullet and bought a top end Nikon Z9, so we’ll se how that handles the next acton job. Still, I think did pretty well, considering it’s been 20+ years since I photographed a rodeo. The action shots were shot with the 70-200mm f/2.8 S, and the wider shots with my 24-120mm f/4 S.
Pemberton, Mt. Currie, and the Lil’wat area in general are some of the hottest places in Canada, so a good hat, sunscreen, and lots of water are a must.