It\u2019s enjoyed a multi-week run as the No. 1-ranked Western documentary on IMDb and earned major praise from national outlets like Sports Illustrated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also gained elite backing from professional rodeo\u00a0leaders, who have given it prime screenings at some of the sport\u2019s biggest venues, including the National Finals Rodeo.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Outriding-the-Devil-Rusty-Wright-OTD-Prem-6.7.26.jpg\")
A Cheyenne interview for “Outriding the Devil” had a profound impact on the comeback of champion saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright. (Courtesy Photo)Women Behind Rodeo\u2019s Biggest Champions<\/p>\n
Ask Wright who the real heroes of rodeo are, and he\u2019ll point first to the women \u2014 those who compete in the arena and the ones who never step inside of it.<\/p>\n
In his Cheyenne interview, he poured his heart out about his own mother, ShaRee Wright, and all of the other rodeo moms and wives who help keep riders like himself going.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey asked me what my mom meant to me, and the things she\u2019s done for me in my career,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody hears how our dad helped us along. He gets lots of recognition, which he should.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t feel like my mom or the wives behind the scenes ever really get the recognition they deserve. Honestly, I think it should be just as much as what my dad would get.\u201d<\/p>\n
If there were gold buckles for \u201cbackbone of the family,\u201d Rusty said he’s\u00a0convinced his mom would have several of those.<\/p>\n
The deep respect for women behind the chutes is exactly the kind of authenticity LeVell was hoping to capture in his film, from Ganter\u2019s story to the moms and wives behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
Ganter\u2019s \u2018Red Devil\u2019 Comeback<\/p>\n
\u201cOutriding the Devil\u201d focuses on the little-told comeback story of Ganter, a barrel racer whose stunning career slammed into a stage-four breast cancer diagnosis so advanced doctors told her she was unlikely to live.<\/p>\n
But Ganter had always been a fighter and refused to give up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The chemotherapy that ultimately saved her has a telling nickname, though. It\u2019s called the \u201cred devil,\u201d and it wreaks havoc on the human body in its quest to ultimately save it.<\/p>\n
There were days Ganter couldn\u2019t walk from her bedroom to the living room. After chemo like that, almost no one believed Ganter would even be able to ride a horse again, much less fight her way\u00a0back to compete at an elite level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat red devil chemo had road-graded her nervous system,\u201d LeVell said. \u201cShe had lost her balance. She didn\u2019t really know left from right. So the idea that she would get on a horse and be able to just kind of like work on a horse was a little fanciful, and the thought that she would come back to rodeo was kind of like Disney-line stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
And yet, Ganter not only survived, but she returned to rodeo at the highest levels, finding a special horse named Bugs and clawing her way back to champion-caliber barrel racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lighting A Fire Under Rusty Wright\u2019s Comeback<\/p>\n
For Wright, who hadn\u2019t known the full depth of Ganter’s ordeal until that Cheyenne interview, her resilience ended up lighting a fire right when he needed it most.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I did that interview, honestly, I was kind of right in the middle of my own personal issues and stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cI went from, you know, top of the world \u2014 I was reserve world champion in 2018 \u2014 and then I had a bunch of personal struggles. I wasn\u2019t even making finals one year. I wasn\u2019t even top 50.\u201d<\/p>\n
Learning what Ganter had overcome helped him push the reset button.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou start playing the \u2018poor me\u2019 game, and if you open your eyes and look around, everyone\u2019s got something,\u201d he said. \u201cYou sitting there crying about your problems, that isn\u2019t going to help you get out of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“A lot of people have it a lot worse off than I do, and they made it. They conquered it. So that kind of lit that fire under me to get my stuff together, and you know, set my goals, realign my priorities, and away we went.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ned](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Ned-LeDoux-and-Lily-Wright-on-the-set-of-22Outriding-the-Devil22-in-Arizona.jpg\")
Ned LeDoux and Lily Wright on the set of “Outriding the Devil” in Arizona. (Courtesy Photo)From NFR To Wyoming<\/p>\n
After its premiere at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas \u2014 the Super Bowl of Western sports \u2014 \u201cOutriding the Devil\u201d has hit the rodeo trail. That\u2019s included premiering at major Texas events like RodeoHouston and the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo.<\/p>\n
Now after making waves on a national stage, the film is circling back to where Rusty\u2019s turning point began \u2014 Wyoming. The film will have an especially long runway in the Cowboy State with several free premieres ahead.<\/p>\n
It will open the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper on June 13, making it one of the rare films to both premiere as an official event of the NFR and later open the college finals as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From there, it heads to Sheridan for the WYO Rodeo kickoff on July 5 and then to Cheyenne Frontier Days, where it will premiere July 16.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of these shows will be free to the public thanks to Visit Casper, the Wyoming Foundation for Cancer Care, the WYO Rodeo, and the Gold Buckle Club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These Wyoming events will also be the last chances to see \u201cOutriding the Devil\u201d on the big screen, and they\u2019ll include opportunities to quiz the director and rodeo figures\u00a0after the show.<\/p>\n
Streaming deals are being negotiated for a wider, national release, but premiere-style events will end once those begin.<\/p>\n
![\""Outriding](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Outriding-the-Devil-Director-Raen-LeVell-with-Mo-Brings-Plenty-6.7.26.jpeg\")
“Outriding the Devil” Director Raen Le Vell with “Yellowstone” actor Mo Brings Plenty. (Courtesy Photo)![\"Included](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Outriding-the-Devil-L-R-Stetson-Wright-Rusty-Wright-ShaRee-Wright-Lily-Wright-Angela-Ganter-Jackie-G.jpeg\")
Included in “Outriding the Devil” are, from left, Stetson Wright, Rusty Wright, Sha Ree Wright, Lily Wright, Angela Ganter and Jackie Ganter. (Courtesy Photo)![\"Barrel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Outriding-the-Devil-Angela-Ganter-6.7.26.jpeg\")
Barrel racing legend Angela Ganter and her battle from near death to elite competition is highlighted in “Outriding the Devil.” (Courtesy Photo)Arrow leftArrow rightTrue Meaning Of Grit<\/p>\n
The Wright family is considered rodeo royalty by many, and has\u00a0been an integral part of \u201cOutriding the Devil,\u201d LeVell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the Las Vegas premiere, the Wrights were there in force alongside country music stars and \u201cYellowstone”\u00a0actors, including Mo Brings Plenty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of those stars was Ned LeDoux, who\u00a0plays a young Ganter\u2019s uncle in the movie opposite Lily Wright, who is Stetson Wright\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n
In the film, Rusty\u2019s brother, Stetson Wright, takes viewers inside the chute as he walks through his mental processes before a ride.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rusty, meanwhile, talks about the importance of family sticking together and why he sees rodeo as \u201cone big family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodeo is one of America\u2019s most dangerous and physically demanding sports. It takes a certain mindset to keep going, one that\u2019s hard to sustain without family and friends backing it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody always sees our highlights and our wins on social media,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone talks about our wins and yeah, that\u2019s inspiring and everything. But to me the real inspiration, what gets me fired up, is seeing people\u2019s struggles and what they had to go through to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rusty said it took 50-some horses before he could stay on a bronc at all, and probably 300 horses before it finally started to click.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember that moment when it finally clicked for me and I thought, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s how it\u2019s supposed to feel,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIf people could watch how many dirt naps and how many wrecks I got in getting to where I\u2019m at, I guarantee you, most people would be like, \u2018I can\u2019t believe he\u2019s still riding.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
By showing those struggles, Rusty hopes his own kids will realize that whatever they want to do in life, they can do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019ve been through, or what you go through,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you work at it, buckle down, if you stay hooked, you can get your way to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the larger message he sees in Ganter\u2019s story, too, and it\u2019s one he absorbed thanks to a random interview request at Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really believe in coincidences,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe in faith. I was just walking by, and they\u2019re like, \u2018Hey, you want to come do this interview?\u2019 God knew I needed that. He knew I needed to hear something, to give me that little push I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that push is on a much bigger stage, playing out in rodeo arenas and theaters across Wyoming and the West \u2014 an audience full of cowboys and cowgirls who know exactly what\u00a0it means to get bucked off hard, dust off, and stand back up again in the arena.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that such a film would have a Wyoming director behind it, or that it would find its biggest runway in the Cowboy State, where grit has become part of the local DNA.<\/p>\n