PRODUCTION NOTES:
Upon my return from a whirlwind shoot of the 2007 Indianapolis 500 for a mini-series on VBS.TV I came into Eddy Moretti’s office with a new zeal for those places and ideas that had up until then been cast aside as “redneck” or “vulgar” simply because they were rooted in Americana. Simultaneously, 3,000 miles away in an airport lounge my soon to be executive producer Jeff Yapp was meeting 3 young men decked out in cowboy hats, boots and Wranglers. After a few beers and a lot of laughs Jeff asked them, “so you guys do what? Ride bulls in the PBR?” and from that moment on Jeff was sold, a fan for life, and suggested to Eddy we do a piece for VBS.TV.

In the summer of 2007 I went to my first PBR event having no idea what to expect. I was blown away by the whole scene. In my mind, the rodeo was small, local, outside and filled with hicks. This was altogher different, more like NASCAR or the NFL but with a quintessential American quality I couldn’t quite peg until I realized all those Westerns and Marlboro man ads I’d seen throughout my life had built up a mythology about the Cowboy. I was now surrounded by that mythology come to life. The characters were extraordinary, outspoken with jaw lines that could slice an apple. I was sold, fan for life.

After that VBS.TV shoot I couldn’t let go of the idea of a feature. This world was too interesting and iconic to ignore.

In Spring of 2008 we began a journey into the lives of the cowboys of the PBR that resulted in the feature-length documentary, The Ride. We went from event to event, going home with whoever would let us tag along. We traveled as far south as Mexico with millionaire bull breeder Tom Teague, flying in style on his Lear 60, only to depart the country in the back of Mexican bullrider Rocky McDonald’s pick-up truck. We drove as far north as the mountains of Montana in an RV with a wild posse of young bullriding hopefuls. While rambling through the grasslands of Oklahoma and the golden lit deserts of the southwest it became clear to me what Woody Guthrie must have felt penning “This Land is Your Land,” a sense of the sublime here on earth. Though conflicted, confused and often misunderstood, America is a pretty awesome place filled with surprising kindness and ingenuity. These cowboys helped me see that simple truth, which is something I’ll never forget.

-Meredith Danluck