Once you’ve been to the National Western Stock Show, you won’t forget it. Here are memories from Denver Post staffers.
Big bison, little kid
My son, his brown felt cowboy hat tilted back precipitously, could hardly believe his eyes as he went face-to-face with the hulking bison. It was 2018 at the National Western Stock Show, and the Beef Palace Auction House, as it’s called, was busy hosting another round of sales for the assembled ranchers, breeders and trainers. In this case: a bison that looked so classically Western it could have stampeded out of a Frederic Remington painting. My son, then 6 years old, had only seen bison on TV and in movies before this particular Stock Show (not his first, it should be noted) and the horizontal metal bars that separated him from the bison seemed paper thin in light of the animal’s strength.
They weren’t, of course, as this running auction that includes horses, cattle, goats, pigs and more always operates safely through the National Western Stock Show. It’s always open to the public, and in 2018 it was tough to get a seat up front and close to the animals, as my family did, given its popularity. For kids used to seeing large animals only in herds on the plains, or in cages and enclosures at zoos, it felt like sniffing distance from nature’s terrifying grandeur.
Am I projecting my own feelings onto my son’s? Probably. But it was so bracing to experience that my son courageously plopped onto a bull for a photo opp elsewhere at the show — an image so absurdly imbalanced that it’s been pinned to my fridge for years. There is no shortage of gorgeous livestock to behold at the event, but witnessing my little kid next to a full-sized bison is an image that I (and he, of course) will never forget.
Note: This year, the auction is moving to the new Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center, where the popular Junior Livestock Auction will be held on Jan. 23. Visit nationalwestern.com/junior-livestock-auction for more information. — John Wenzel
The parade
Denver may be trying to shed its dusty old cowtown image but there’s one day of the year when it is wholeheartedly embraced: the annual Stock Show Parade.
If you work downtown or are able to sneak away on your lunch break, it’s worth braving the cold to watch cowgirls and cowboys herd 30 longhorn cattle through downtown. Bundle up, bring a coffee or hot chocolate and enjoy the spectacle with your colleagues.
When the Denver Post offices were downtown, a group of reporters and editors always ran outside to watch. One year, I posed for a picture while sitting on a steer outside the Wells Fargo Center, also known as the Cash Register Building.
The parade also includes marching bands, floats, farm equipment and, of course, cowgirls and cowboys. It’s a great way to get in the stock show spirit.
This year, the route begins at noon on Jan. 8 at Union Station. The cattle drive heads up 17th Street and ends at Glenarm Place.
One more thought: Be sure to thank those city workers who have the unpleasant task of sweeping up all those “horse apples” when the parade wraps up. — Noelle Phillips
The barns and the yards
There’s plenty to see and do at the National Western Stock Show: a jam-packed marketplace of apparel, cowboy hats and really big pickup trucks; rodeos; and some of the country’s most well-bred cattle on display in the auction ring.
But one of my favorite parts of the Stock Show is going where a lot of the general public might not go. As a reporter, I’ve wandered through the “barns” on the ground floor of the Expo Hall. It’s where people prepped their animals for shows. They took their cattle to be showered and then gave them the livestock version of big hair blowouts. Radios and blow dryers blared from rows of stalls. You could catch kids napping on stacks of hay. You got a sense of the stock show’s wide draw from the signs and banners with the ranch names and locations. However, this year, as part of the ongoing transformation of the National Western grounds, all the action will move to the new Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center.
Another favorite haunt of mine was the “yards,” a sea of outside pens where buyers walked through, sizing up animals and striking deals. I’m still nostalgic for the old wooden pens and the catwalks that let people take in all of the stockyards. But after several decades, the maze of sometimes-rickety structures have been replaced by metal and wood pens that can be removed when the stock show is over. Each pen has several power outlets and access to hot and cold water. It’s been a real upgrade for the people and their animals. — Judith Kohler
Get Grizzly
Inspired by the bull riding at the Stock Show but too chicken to get on a real bull? Scoot over to the Grizzly Rose for a romp on a mechanical bull, cheap drinks and bona fide country dancing. Denver’s country dance hall is bright, loud and overwhelming. Sometimes the dance floor is alarmingly sticky. But the Grizzly Rose is fun. No matter if you’re an old hand at two-steppin’ or happy to just try your best during the intricate line dances, when the cowboys come to town, it’s the place to be. — Elise Schmelzer
Fancy cattle
When we moved to Denver and read about the National Western Stock Show, one particular thing caught my eye: a Limousin show. The French breed of beef cattle are the kind of cows you would find on the Phillips family farm in Tennessee. Naturally, I left work early one weeknight and headed over to the National Western Complex to watch 4-H participants parade their prize Limousin around a show ring.
My husband and I continue to go to these shows to see these cows, which are groomed far better than any on the farm. We’ve noticed over the years that the exhibit hall can be jam-packed, but the bleachers around the show rings are nearly empty except for some supportive 4-H parents. We think it’s odd because this is a stock show and isn’t looking at cows and sheep and alpacas the point? So grab your barbecue sandwich or a burrito and have a seat to watch some very spiffy cows and their young cowboys and cowgirls do their thing. Note: The breed-specific shows are included in the price of admission. — Noelle Phillips
The most boring rodeo
Years before I walked through the chutes at the Denver Coliseum to graduate with my moo-ing Metro State classmates (with all the pomp and circumstance we could muster), I sat in the stock show arena seats as a middle schooler waiting for the rodeo to start. Mom had gotten tickets for us and one of my friends, and she let us run around to see the different exhibits, telling us to meet her in the stands for the rodeo. We were late, of course, and when we arrived, our tickets were confusing, and we couldn’t find our seats. We searched for Mom and sat in some empty seats. They started showing quarter horses in the arena to a small group. No one was cheering. There were no bronc busters or barrel racing. I’d been to several Little Britches Rodeos as a kid in my rural hometown, and I knew we messed up. I panicked, remembering how many people were at the Coliseum that weekend, thinking we’d never be found. Eventually, my exasperated mom found us and marched us to the big arena, on the other side of Interstate 70, to witness the big show. More than 10 years later, Mom escorted me to the correct arena to pick up my college diploma. I wouldn’t have made it without her, in more ways than one. — TJ Hutchinson
