ProRodeo Sports News - October 5, 2018

opinion of what this area is, and the same goes for rodeo. People think there’s discrimination and bias (in rodeo), and that’s not what we found with Chris Byrd, Tre and Derrick, and that wasn’t our experience. We want the film to show a different side of rodeo. There are two very different worlds colliding together in this film.” Between the territory of the notorious rival gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, was an oasis that attracted local kids with an interest in horses before it burned down in 2012. “There isn’t much down there anymore because people have moved away, but there are a couple of cowboys who are trail riders,” Byrd said. “There are some tie-down ropers, and it’s kind of changing now. I’m not sure if they will rebuild, but they are looking for a different facility to have a program with kids and horses to work with the kids in the inner city.” The film took seven years to complete, from 2011 through 2018, because unlike other documentaries, it’s done in the style of a Western. “I didn’t really mind, I just kind of go with the flow,” Byrd said. “A lot of the guys down south couldn’t wait for it to come out, but I’m laid back.” The Western-style editing was worth the effort. “In 2011, there were so many narrative films being shot in the style of a documentary, and I wanted to shoot a documentary in the style of a Western,” Fallentine said. “It’s been my passion project, a labor of love, for all these years.” UNCOVERING COMPTON’SWESTERN SIDE In 2011, a social worker from South Central overheard Fallentine lamenting that there aren’t any goodWesterns. She told him she saw guys riding horseback around Compton. Fallentine staked out the neighborhood for more than a week and traced a trail of horse manure back to the stable. “One interview led to another, and one by one I got to know these guys,” Fallentine said. “I would go on rides with them and film them, and he would say, ‘Oh, this is Brett, for some reason he took an interest in us.’ I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I was so interested in this culture and where it came from. I started getting really fascinated with it and was doing research into the history and heritage of black cowboys and the Compton cowboys.” One year later, the stable was gone. “When the stabled burned down, I got information on how much it actually meant to the community and what it was doing to get kids out of gangs,” Fallentine said. “The Hill is special because no gang had claimed it, it’s a neutral side. One side is Crips and one side is from the Bloods.” Local kids weren’t just handed the reins, they had to work for the privilege of going for rides by learning to care for the animals. “They would come clean stalls and work together, and sooner or later the walls between them started breaking down,” Fallentine said. Some of the horses arrived at the stable in poor health and in need of rehabilitation. “I heard about the kids who were helping the horses, and in turn the horses were helping the kids,” Fallentine said. Byrd was contacted and filmed in 2015 to give his views as one of Compton’s cowboys. “I don’t really care for the camera, so it was pretty hard,” Byrd said. “People were following me around and showing our story, so it wasn’t too bad. They show everything and how it goes down. Even for kids watching it, it will motivate kids and keep them out of the streets.” Fire on the Hill is set for another screening at the Twin Cities Film Festival on Oct. 23 in St. Louis Park, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. As for the final product, Byrd was pleased. “I was surprised, it was pretty good,” Byrd said. “Going to that premiere, it was pretty packed, and I think it will touch a lot of people.” To see a trailer of Fire on the Hill go to https://bit.ly/2Qp0cHO.

“They show everything and how it goes down. Even for kids watching it, it will motivate kids and keep them out of the streets. ... Going to that premiere, it was pretty packed, and I think it will touch a lot of people.” -– CHRIS BYRD

PRCA bull rider Chris Byrd attended the premier of Fire on the Hill with his girlfriend, Mariah Hunt, Sept. 22. The project began in 2011 and continued for seven years, just in time for the 2018 LA Film Festival. Photo courtesy Chris Byrd

ProRodeo Sports News 10/5/2018

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