When many people think of mainstream cowboy culture, images of Buffalo Bill, Billy the Kid, even John Wayne and Clint Eastwood come to mind.
However, the image of Black cowboys and cowgirls, although just as notable, often gets erased from history.
For Lu Vason, late founder of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR), being erased from history and from Western culture was not an option. Vason created the BPIR to “celebrate and honor Black cowboys and cowgirls and their contributions to building the west.”
This Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, the touring rodeo will once again make its stop in Castro Valley’s Rowell Ranch as they have done for almost the entirety of the organization’s existence.
When Vason—an Oakland native—saw his first rodeo in Wyoming, he questioned why there weren’t many African Americans in attendance.
“That generated curiosity,” said Valeria Howard-Cunningham, president and CEO of BPIR, about her late husband. “He came back and did all the research and found out there were thousands of [Black] cowboys and cowgirls across the country, but they just didn’t have the platforms to perform rodeo.”
With a background in concert promotion, Vason built a successful rodeo that is celebrating its 42nd anniversary this year. A large part of that time has included a stop in the Bay Area. “We’ve been in the Oakland, Rowell Rancho area for over 35 years,” said Howard-Cunningham.
“Oakland and that area, it was his passion to do a rodeo there. Because when you transition from being a full-time music promoter to rodeo, it’s totally different worlds,” said Howard-Cunningham. “The fact that he was able to create this and do it where he spent a large part of his life, gives you a warm feeling of his legacy continuing and [gives] honor to him.”
When Vason passed in 2015, the rodeo came to a crossroads. Howard-Cunningham had to make the decision whether to dissolve the association or push it forward. It was the Oakland community—those who knew Vason well—who were the deciding factor of the future of the rodeo.
“When I would see people come up in their walkers and in wheelchairs, it was clear to me that the rodeo had made an impact and it was something that we needed to continue,” said Howard-Cunningham.
The Black women of the BPIR became a huge support in Howard Cunninghman’s journey in her new role in the organization. Today, the rodeo continues to make strides proving that it is, in fact, “the greatest show on dirt.”
Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo’s events include bull riding, barrel racing, breakaway roping, steer decorating—and what it’s most known for—bull dogging.
Bull dogging was created by the rodeo’s namesake, Bill Pickett. Pickett was a legendary African-American cowboy, rodeo inventor and Wild West performer. Vason named the rodeo after Pickett “to make sure that everyone would learn the legacy and fearless contributions that Bill Pickett, the cowboy, ranch hand and entertainer made to the rodeo world and Western culture.”
In 2021, BPIR became the first African-American rodeo to be televised as they performed in the MGM arena in Las Vegas. In 2025, BPIR partnered with fashion brand Sp5der Worldwide at the Sweet Tooth Rodeo where cowboys and cowgirls sported the brand’s western collection. Now, BPIR is in talks of going international.
Even with how much they continue to grow, Howard Cunningham’s focus remains on the community that has built up the rodeo with the BPIR Foundation. The foundation offers support and creates educational opportunities for the Black community with health initiatives, scholarship programs and educational program partnerships.
Howard-Cunningham described a moment when she saw the result of the foundation’s work as she helped bring a group of kids into the rodeo’s facility as a part of an educational program.
“The closer [this little boy] got to the arena, he put his hands on his little hips and he said ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this. There really are Black cowboys,’” said Howard-Cunningham. “Tears just started flowing down my face. At that moment, I felt a degree of accomplishment because we had educated these kids that Black cowboys are real, and they do exist, and they were able to see it.”
Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo
Saturday, July 11 – Sunday, July 12
2:30pm
Rowell Ranch Rodeo Park
9725 Dublin Canyon Rd., Castro Valley
billpickettrodeo.com
Tickets: $50 adult / $30 child
