Amy Arden

At the Chincoteague Pony Drive, saltwater cowboys round up wild island ponies, and drive them across the water to the mainland.

During the Gold Rush, towns boomed around mines in the West. However, once those mines were depleted, the towns were abandoned as quickly as they were established.

To keep roping skills sharp, it''s hard to beat dummy roping. Nick Sartain, a 2009 world champion header, shares his tips for tossing a loop.

Ned Ledoux is the second oldest child of late rodeo and music icon Chris LeDoux. Ned and his four siblings grew up on the family ranch near Kaycee, Wyo., and he played drums in his father’s band, Western Underground, until Chris passed away in 2005. Today, Ned keeps his father’s legacy alive with a revamped lineup of Western Underground, which recently performed a musical stage show based on Chris’ music called One Ride. A Western tour is slated for later this year.