Watch your step
The barnyard ballet requires a delicate step, said Jenna Mrnak, as she wiggled and maneuvered around a 1-ton bovine crowded into the Mrnak Herefords stalls in the stockyard.
“You just have to give them a little space and nudge them out of the way,” said the petite 22-year-old, whose husband, Brent, is one of the family owners of the Bowman, N.D., spread that includes 470 cattle and acreages of wheat, corn, oats, barley and alfalfa hay.
“If they squish you, it’s usually not very hard,” she said. “It’s the feet you have to watch.”
ProRodeo opens
The PRCA ProRodeo opens tonight at 7 in the Denver Coliseum.
In addition to riding, roping and other feats of rodeo skill, opening night includes the antics of rodeo clown “Ryan Rodriguez, the One-Armed Bandit,” the Versatility Ranch Horse Awards and mutton bustin’ for the kids.
Ticket prices range from $8 to $50. Morning, matinee and evening sessions are available through the end of the show Jan. 21.
Junior ranchers strut their stock
Competition among the junior livestock competitors begins today with the Junior Market Goat Show at 9 a.m. A champion will be crowned at 2 p.m. in the Stadium Hall.
The junior exhibit categories lead up to the grand event: selection of the grand champion steer, which sometimes sells for more than $100,000. The grand champion is traditionally exhibited at the Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver. The hotel exhibition will be at 11 a.m. Jan. 19.
Mooseum of art
Visitors at the National Western Stock Show can get some culture with their cows. Just show your stock show ticket and you are eligible for a $2 discount on an adult ticket to the Denver Art Museum.
The Denver Art Museum is on West 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock Street in downtown Denver.
The museum displays a world-renowned American Indian collection, as well as American and European art, pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art, Asian art, textiles, and modern design, as well as locations and presentations for children.
For more information, go to denverartmuseum.org or call 720-865-5000.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
7 a.m.: AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Competition; Paint Horse Jumping Classes
8 a.m.: Hereford Junior Heifer Show
9 a.m.: Angus Sale Bull Show; Junior Market Goat Show; Tradeshow opens
Noon: Denver National Maine-Anjou Sale Bull Evaluation; Hereford Carload and Pen Bull Show
2 p.m.: Angus Bull Sale; Junior Market Goat Championship Selection
6 p.m.: Dog Agility Games
7 p.m.: ProRodeo; National Western Family & Seniors Day – Rodeo performances
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
7:30 a.m.: Collegiate Livestock Judging Contest
8 a.m.: Angus Bull Show; Braunvieh Show; Hereford Female Show; Hunter/ Jumper Classes
9 a.m.: Collegiate Wool Judging Contest, Adams County Fairgrounds
10 a.m.: Denver National Maine-Anjou & MaineTainer Pen Heifer Show, followed by Pen Bull Show
Noon: Colorado Angus Association Foundation Female Sale
2 p.m.: ProRodeo
5 p.m.: Llama Show
6 p.m.: Hereford Sale
7:30 p.m.: $10,000 National Western Gambler’s Choice Open Jumper Stake; ProRodeo
