ST. FRANCISVILLE - Behind the gates of Louisiana State Penitentiary, the rodeo comes to town every October. Before the event begins, you see prison trustees walking around, interacting with everyday people in attendance, looking to sell their crafts. Inmates look forward to this event every year.

"It's great, it's an awesome interaction, it's something different than our day-to-day basis, it makes us feel normal," one inmate who sells leather belts said during the rodeo.

Once the craft market winds down, attention shifts to the main event: the rodeo. Here, inmates perform dangerous stunts with bulls and horses in an arena packed with spectators. Most of them are eager to get the show started.

Reflecting on the rodeo's impact, inmate Travis Johnson explained, "It's a lot of things, it's therapy for a whole lot of people, it helps people to actually become better people, it helps you build, it helps you think more positive things because it helps you set goals."

Johnson says he has won multiple times in rodeo events and attributes the sport to helping reform him.

"I did something wrong, and that's how I got here. It's not like you're going to walk up here and I'm going to snatch your purse. I'm a reformed person. I am trying to be a better person, each year I try to make me a better person," he said.

Rochelle Ambeau, a warden within the prison, says portions of the proceeds made from the rodeo go towards the prison's re-entry program.

"Two trades and a GED, and the programs that we set, the self-help programs that we set, once they finish them, then they are able to go back to court and have their sentence reheard and maybe sentenced to probation," she said.

The last day of the rodeo this season is October 26th.