The 105th National Western Stock Show drew to a close today, but not before Gen Hawkins of Denver could make a few deals.
Both arms laden with bags, Hawkins, a Denver grandmother of 17, said she hadn’t missed a show – or a bargain – in more than 20 years.
“All my babies love the cowboy stuff, so I’m Christmas shopping,” she said. “They like to make deals on the last day.”
Hawkins was one of the 644,818 attendees this year, marking the 14th straight year that Colorado’s biggest event of any kind has topped the 600,000 mark. Last year the show drew 633,003 fans.
The Stock Show ostensibly is about livestock – more than 16,000 head that passed through during the 16-day show.
Fans browsed the goods and wares of more than 350 vendors, who sold everything from cattle trailers to laser teeth whitening, and attended attractions that ranged from Roy Rogers’ convertible to acrobatic pigs.
A full house roared its approval at the finals of the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association’s finale this afternoon.
Paul Andrews, the first-year president and CEO of the show and an attendee since he was child, rode into the rodeo arena on horseback for each of the contests.
“I walked around the stockyards quite a bit, and the thing that was the most impactful to me was talking to the people,” he said after today’s rodeo. “Most of the people I talked to helped me understand how big this show really is, and that was very impactful.
“They said this is their Super Bowl. There’s nothing bigger in the world for them all year. They plan for it, and their families have been coming for generations. It really brought together in my mind how much the show means to so many people.”
More than half the 29 rodeos this year were performed before full houses in the 8,700-seat Coliseum – an impressive feat, given as many as three shows a day and tickets that can cost as much as 100 a seat at premiere events.
“My goal is always to be sold out for every event,” Andrews said.
And he’s not just talking rodeos. Andrews, who took the reins of the show in November, said he hopes marketing and strategy can fill seats for many of the lesser known events, as well.
“I’m very excited about the future,” he said. “The support Denver has historically given to the National Western is unparalleled, but that’s also true of the surrounding region and all the surrounding states.”
A handful of die-hard Stock Show fans weighed in today with how to improve this cow town’s longest-running event.
“Parking is the big thing,” said Stan Walsh of Greeley, referring to the handful of lots scattered several blocks away. “The buildings are old, but they’re fine for a cattle show. The parking makes you think twice about whether you want to deal with it.”
A standing long-range committee, which includes recently retired president and CEO Pat Grant, is studying such growth issues and how much longer the landlocked location with its aging buildings can hold out at its current location.
“I wish they could do something about the dust,” 28-year-old Marlena Sanchez of Denver said near the Expo Hall stables this morning. “But it’s cows and pigs, so I guess you just live with that.”
Her 4-year-old daughter, Twyla, pinched her nose and added her thoughts, “Peeee-yew.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
