It’s an 8-second right and every second counts. For a group of women, it is finally their shot to join the professional bronco riding circuit after a century of not being able to compete due to their gender.
Filmmaker Taimi Arvidson follows four women on their journey competing in the riding circuit in the documentary “Cheyenne.” The Abele Cinema in the Oriental Theatre held a screening of the film on Sept. 26, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. The Dialogues Documentary Festival, hosted by Milwaukee Film, included the documentary in its four-day lineup.
The film follows Bee, Brooke, Lake and Ally over the course of a year to make it to the big stage of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. This event finishes off the riding circuit season.
Arvidson captures the challenging ins and outs that come with the women trying to make a name for themselves in a male-dominated rodeo scene.
During the long history of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, women at one point were a big part of the program when it began, but this ended in 1929 when one female competitor died during a competition.
As someone who enjoys the rodeo and bronco sport events, this nonfiction film truly sparked my interest.
The filmmaker truly caught a beautiful blend of the struggle of the sport and the women’s personal lives.
This coverage of the season the women were allowed to compete in, after almost a century, was riveting and ultimately tragic, as this inclusion did not last long.
If you love the rodeo scene, I highly recommend this film to you. I would rate this film five out of five stars.