It's one of the only prison rodeos left in the world, where America’s most dangerous criminals ride bulls and horses behind bars in Louisiana.
The Angola Prison Rodeo is staged at one of the largest maximum-security prisons in the US, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, Nine News reports.
The prison houses 5000 inmates, with 80 per cent of them likely never leaving the prison walls.
“I’ve been here now 30 years,” inmate Gerry Tucker, who was jailed for second-degree murder, said.
“They get to see us in a different light and say, ‘Well look, they are human.’”
Prisoners trying their hand at the sport for the first time get no training before taking part in the tradition.
“Right now, I’m destined to be here until I die,” inmate Carl Ruffins, a convicted killer, said.
While the event is Ruffins’ second rodeo, it means more to him than just riding a bull.
“I have changed in a lot of ways,” he said. “I have matured in my 20-some years of being incarcerated.”
Inmates also use the opportunity on opening day to earn some money, selling handmade items including handbags, paintings and even barbecues they made behind bars.
People from across the world travel to the prison for the event, and prisoners are heavily-screened beforehand.
Ruffins hopes the event will allow people to see him in another light.
“Hopefully, it provides the opportunity for somebody to see me and say, ‘He may deserve a second chance.’”
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