Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo Is Back In Cowtown

On Saturday, June 18, the most significant all-Black national touring rodeo, the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR), will return to Fort Worth, Texas, bringing a landmark Juneteenth Celebration event to the iconic Cowtown Coliseum.

The Juneteenth weekend will kick off in the historic Stockyards at 11:30 a.m. CT with the BPIR Royal Ride Parade and the return of the Toyota BPIR Traveling Museum which tells the stories of Black Cowboys and Cowgirls who have traveled the U.S. with the world’s leading all-Black touring rodeo. The Juneteenth Rodeo, the third stop of BPIR’s Texas Connection Series, will then get underway with an afternoon performance at 1:30 p.m. CT, followed by an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. CT.

The Juneteenth Rodeo will feature accomplished western sports athletes competing in bull dogging, calf roping, ladies steer undecorating, ladies barrel racing, junior barrel racing, junior breakaway, relay racing, ladies breakaway and bull riding.

Among the numerous accomplished western sports athletes scheduled to compete are:

Krishaun Adair - Point Blank, Texas

Texan Krishaun Adair is a second generation cowgirl that competes in barrel racing and steer undecorating. Now a wife and mother, who is also an Inspector for the Texas Department of Agriculture, Adair began her career early at age 4, since rising to western sports stardom, collecting numerous accolades, including winning last year’s BPIR Showdown in Las Vegas.

Denesha Henderson - Houston, Texas

Denesha Henderson is a Graduate of Delta State University where she competed on the Basketball team via a full scholarship, since going on to become a Program Manager for Prairie View A&M University. A second generation cowgirl who has been competing with BPIR since 1995 when she was 5, Henderson competes in both barrel racing and steer undecorating.

Carolyn Carter - Spenser, Oklahoma

Okie Carolyn Carter has been active with BPIR since it was found in 1984, having not missed one of the association’s rodeos in more than 38 years. A first generation cowgirl, Carter won the BPIR LSU Championships in 1989, 1993 and 2016, and in 2019 won the average in both LBR and LSU and All Around Cowgirl. Apart from Western sports, Carter is a retired registered nurse, but continues working as a legal and medical consultant.

Kortnee Solomon - Hempstead, Texas

A just 11 years old, Kortnee Solomon, a fourth generation cowgirl, has already been competing for seven years. Born into the BPIR Association, Solomon is the granddaughter of Sedgwick Haynes, while both her mom and dad are active with the PRCA tour. A versatile athlete, Solomon competes in barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat tying and pole bending.