Inside America's Premier Black Rodeo, A celebration of cowboy culture - by GEMMA TARLACH :    The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR), named for the early-20th century rodeo star, it's been one of the Black cowboy community's most storied and prestigious event for more than 35 years. Bay area photographer Gabriela Hasbun spent more than a decade documenting the BPIR riders and their world at the rodeo's annual stop in the second week of July on the outskirts of Oakland, California. It was a side project that started on a whim, when she joined her neighbor and mentor, late photography director Zana Woods, on a search for a snack. Hundreds of immages later, Hasbun's recently released book The New Black West:  Photographs from America's only touring Black Rodeo-captures the dedication, camaraderie, and joy of riders carrying on the traditions of the Black men and women who blazed new trails into the American West.    "I just fell in love with the event. I had never been around horses in my life. They are really big animals, and they are powerful, and I was blown away by how these people were just handling them.  It was very beautiful. I want people to take away how important African Americans were to the westward expansion. They were a crucial part of helping settle the west and even find the west.