AllMovie

While the life of a cowboy has rarely been regarded as an easy one, modern-day rodeo competitors are men who train hard at a truly punishing sport and generally see very little financial reward for their efforts, despite the often inflated salaries of contemporary professional athletes. Real McCoy is a documentary that follows several championship rodeo riders over the course of the 2000 season, and offers a close look at the demands of their life as well as their intense devotion to the sport. The cowboys profiled include Fred Whitfield, the first African-American rider to become rodeo's reigning champion; Don "Hollywood" Yates, a top rodeo clown and "freestyle bullfighter" who is considering translating his flashy style to the professional wrestling arena; and Mike Moore and Kagan Sirett, a pair of up-and-coming bull riders who dream of rising to the top in a sport where only about a dozen men can make a living rodeoing full-time. Real McCoy was shown in competition at the 2001 Taos Talking Picture Festival.