“This was not the boards (sic) preferred outcome, but it is necessary for the organization at this time,” the Westernaires said in an email to members on Saturday.

Representatives from the Westernaires did not respond to a request for comment from The Denver Post on Monday.

The Westernaires have been teaching horsemanship to kids in Colorado and performing equine entertainment with Wild West themes for more than 70 years, with a team of entirely volunteer staff dedicating time to the craft.

For decades, the organization’s romanticism of cowboys-and-Indians tropes — including a reenactment of the 1876 and white children dressed in Native-inspired regalia performing sacred Indigenous dances — has garnered protest and pushback from Native American communities.

When former Westernaires member Justice Maldonado first witnessed the organization’s portrayal of Native communities, the now-11-year-old Indigenous girl said she was “crying and hurt on the inside.”

“My family doesn’t participate in racism, and I knew my family would do anything to keep people from hurting us,” Justice said Monday.

She joined the Westernaires with her sister, Jamilah Maldonado, in 2022 when their grandmother, Marjorie Lane, signed them up. The family became advocates for educating the Westernaires and asking board members to stop the organization’s cultural appropriation.

The Westernaires’ email to members did not explain why the board had decided, as of February, to end the dance program or say whether the organization would continue performing its reenactment of the Battle of Little Bighorn — a major defeat of U.S. forces in what is now Montana that is also known as Custer’s Last Stand or, to Natives, the Battle of Greasy Grass.

It appears, though, that pressure from the played a part.

Stock Show President and CEO Wes Allison declined an interview with The Post on Monday. But Lane provided emails between Allison and herself in which the CEO said he had let Westernaires leadership know that “continued reenactments that were offensive could result in the group not participating in the National Western Stock Show.”

Last month, Denver City��Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore invited Justice to speak at a council meeting attended by Allison, who was there for a proclamation honoring the 120th National Western Stock Show — which the Westernaires traditionally perform at.

Justice shared her story, describing how she and her family have asked the Westernaires to stop their Native programming, but said the organization wouldn’t listen.

Lane said she spoke to Allison at the council meeting and followed up, asking him whether he would allow the Westernaires to perform at the stock show if they continued their controversial portrayal of Native culture.

The Westernaires did not perform Native American dancing or reenact the Battle of Little Bighorn at January’s stock show, Allison told Lane in the emails.

“They have a show in October at the Event Center,” Allison wrote, referring to the Westernaires’ annual “Horsecapades” show. “We will add specific language to the contract that forbids them from such acts. I have tried to express my deep concerns and will follow through if they don’t comply. Please know that I take this very seriously and want you to know that I support you 100%.”

Westernaires reenact history with Native American costumes and whoops. Critics say the depictions have no place in a modern West.

Gilmore on Monday praised the efforts of Justice and her family to bring change to the Westernaires.

"The commitment and continued work of the American Indian community, along with Justice and her family, created the momentum to make this change to stop the harm and disrespect that was occurring," Gilmore wrote in an email to The Post. "I hope that instead of erasure, the Westernaires with reflection will choose to listen to members of the American Indian community and honor their experience and voices to bring people together through a truthful history to enact real change in our world today."

Justice and Jamilah, who are members of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, told The Post on Monday they were proud of themselves and their grandmother for never giving up.

"My family did not say, 'Oh well, they are not listening, so let����ap stop the protest,'" Justice said. "What my family really said was, 'This is not right. We need to do something, and we need to do it now.'”

The family loved the Westernaires' horse-riding education and the friendships the girls made, but were shocked by the group's performers imitating sacred Native dancing and acting out the Battle of Little Bighorn in a "cowboys vs. Indians"-style brawl that they said made a mockery of the genocide of Native people.

After a Post reporter asked about the Westernaires' Native American representation in 2024, some of the organization's leaders acknowledged it was time to change.

Volunteers who had been in the organization since childhood shared how their portrayals of Native Americans had gotten better over the years -- no longer calling Native people "savages" in their historical reenactments or dressing the children up in long, black wigs, for example. They infused Native American education into the program, taking Westernaires kids to the site of the Sand Creek Massacre and having them research Indigenous culture.

However, the battle reenactment and Indigenous dancing continued. Lane and her grandchildren chose to leave the organization a year ago, but their activism persisted.

Indigenous activist Erlidawn Roy comes from the Meskwaki, Anishinaabe, Laguna Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo people. The Denverite advocated alongside Lane and her granddaughters for the Westernaires to change their Indigenous portrayals, saying the performances she saw were hurtful to the Native community.

"This feels like a win, finally," Roy said Monday. "Hopefully, their youth can see this is harm being done by them dressing up in a costume and playing cowboys and Indians. We are living, breathing, different tribes represented, and here they are doing stereotypical damage."

The Maldonado girls and their younger sister now ride horses elsewhere and have gone on rides with Native community members.

"I am not just a child, but I am a poet and a person that loves her culture and will do anything to stop people being racist to my culture," Justice said. "It took the Westernaires three years to just make things right for three kids and a nice grandmother that cares about their culture. And now in 2026, my family got the changes that we have been waiting for a very long time."

The top eight animals — including the Grand Champion Market Steer, which sold for $320,000 — collectively generated more than $822,000, according to a . That beats the old record for sales by the top-ranking animals by $185,000, stock show officials said in the release.

Of the thousands of junior market animals that competed at the stock show in Denver this year, only 108 advanced to the auction, according to the release. The proceeds from the auction help fund the , which supports education in agriculture and related fields.

Overall auction sales across all 108 animals totaled a “staggering” $1.8 million, breaking the previous record of roughly $1.4 million,��.

Records set during this year’s auction include:

• The Grand Champion Steer, Boots, sold for $320,000 to the Bank of Colorado. The previous record of $210,000 was set in 2025. Boots was shown by 13-year-old Cannon Reinmann of South Dakota.
• The Reserve Grand Champion Hog, Bennie, sold for $120,000 to Transwest Trucks. Bennie was shown by a Colorado local, Bailey Stromberger of Iliff.
• The Grand Champion Lamb, Kiss, sold for $55,000 to the TKM Foundation. Kiss was shown by 16-year-old Sayde Allen from Oklahoma.
• The Reserve Grand Champion Lamb, Willy, was sold for $50,000 to APC Resources. Willy was shown by 16-year-old Delainee Moore of Oklahoma.
• The Reserve Grand Champion Goat, Bonsai, sold for $32,500 to Bruce and Bev Wagner. Bonsai was shown by 15-year-old Dayton Mortvedt of Iowa.

The 120th National Western Stock Show also smashed attendance records, with 750,039 people showing up for the 2026 event, . The previous record of 726,972 attendees was set in 2006, stock show officials said.

“This year was bigger than ever, and Denver came together to celebrate the Western way of life,” Wes Allison, stock show president and CEO, said in a . “Stock Show is about honoring our roots, inspiring the next generation, and creating memories that last a lifetime.”

“We had been here in Colorado for two years and Jean and I decided that we needed to go up and see Cheyenne Frontier Days,” Dennis said.

But when they turned into the parking lot, the couple from the Longmont area saw a big tent with a sign about a 40-horse hitch. There were 48 horses tied up around the tent and a big circus wagon. They walked inside the tent to see what was going on.

“We just about didn’t make the rodeo because we spent the rest of the day there. Coming home, that’s when we decided we would probably raise draft horses,” Dennis said.

That day in Cheyenne, the Kuehls met who drove his 40-horse hitch in parades across the country. The group was made up of 10 rows of horses with four across.

“He had outriders in case anything went wrong,” Dennis said.

Sparrow, who became friends with Dennis, talked to officials with the National Western Stock Show when they were considering whether to revive draft horse shows at the Denver event.

Dennis and Jean began raising Belgians in 1977. The horses can be at least 6 feet tall at their withers, the highest point of the back, and at least 1,800 pounds.

When the National Western brought back the draft horse show in 1981 after a 40-year hiatus, Dennis was the ring steward. He fetched the horses, kept the action moving and helped the judge.

In 1984, Dennis became the superintendent of the shows until stepping down in 2018. He was a full-time math teacher and then school principal. But starting in mid-November, he also worked several hours with his team to prepare for the National Western.

“Before we had cell phones, come November, I would not answer the phone anymore because it was almost always some exhibitor calling with questions for Dennis for the stock show,” said Jean, who taught home economics and at an alternative high school in Loveland.

Jack Taylor of Fort Collins, who raises Percheron draft horses, has worked at the National Western shows for more than 20 years and was an assistant to Dennis. Taylor took over coordinating the after Dennis, now 82, walked out of the ring for the last time.

Horses were first shown in 1907 at what was then called the Western National Stock Show, Keith Fessenden, the stock show’s historian and archivist, said in an email. The horse shows stopped after 1940, which Dennis and stock show officials attributed to fewer horses used for farm work in favor of tractors and other mechanized equipment.

Members of a state draft horse association that Dennis belonged to talked to Chuck Sylvester, then the stock show general manager, about having draft horse shows again.��The return of draft horse shows coincided with the National Western’s 75th anniversary in 1981.

“Dennis was kind of the spearhead of it,” Taylor said. “He is, I think, responsible for revitalizing it, keeping it going and promoting it over the years.”

The draft horse shows this week during the stock show’s 120th anniversary will include 15 six-horse hitches, or six horses pulling a wagon. Taylor said exhibitors will be from Canada, Washington state, Michigan, Colorado and several Eastern states.

Taylor, formerly in law enforcement and now a real estate agent, planned to spend more than 12 hours a day at the stock show Thursday through Saturday.

“Denver is known for producing a good crowd, producing a good show for the spectators,” Taylor said. “To me, it’s like going to the Super Bowl of draft horses.”

Kendra McConnell, the National Western’s director of show horse operations, said the draft horses are popular with both spectators and exhibitors. Events include two-horse working teams that compete in obstacle courses and log skids. The draft horses also participate in pulling contests to see which can pull the most weight.

Working with ‘gentle giants’

Dennis said large audiences turned out for the early shows, staged in the Stadium Arena, which was built in 1909 and is next to the Hall of Education. People didn’t need tickets for the shows, but they needed to arrive early to get a seat, he said. The packed, standing-room-only crowds drew the fire department’s attention and the show had to be halted one time so a man having a heart attack could be taken out.

The shows, which now require tickets, are held at the Events Center, near the Hall of Education. Dennis said a key to building interest in the shows was attracting horse owners, which meant making sure the exhibitors had what they needed.

“What I realized is that it’s January. Why would these guys want to come out in January, in the middle of the cold weather? So, I spent a lot of time on the phone with them, helping them find places to make stop-overs,” Dennis said.

He and his team made sure the exhibitors’ stalls were ready and met them at the gate to take them where they needed to go. Asked why people like to watch the draft horses, Dennis believes it’s because they’re so big.

“And because of their temperament. Quite often, people come out here and they’re surprised they can walk up to our horses and talk to them,” Dennis said.

Taylor called draft horses “gentle giants.” Clydesdales and Shires are among those giants.

Cole, a Belgian gelding who’s about 12 years old, calmly stood tied to a rope in the barn on the Kuehls’ property as visitors walked up to him and rubbed above his nose.

Dennis and Jean are both from southwestern Minnesota where they had horses. The family has bred and raised several draft horses through the years, growing the herd to as many as 22 at one point on their 40-acre northwest of Longmont.

“All these pens would be full. It’d be feeding twice a day. It’s kind of an all-consuming thing in a way,” said Cody Kuehl, 42, who lives down the road from his parents.

Cody and his brother, Brady, 45, helped with the feeding and all the other chores. The family raised hay to feed the horses. Dennis shoed the horses. The family uses horse-drawn equipment: mowers, hay rakes and a wagon to spread horse manure for fertilizer.

Jean got up during the night to check on the mares that were ready to give birth. “I’d worry enough to go check in the barn every couple hours.”

They later got a video camera and monitor to keep an eye on expectant mothers. “But you still had to wake up every two hours to look at it,” Jean said.

Cody and Brady helped put together one of the stock show’s timed events for draft horses where teams load, haul and unload hay bales. They packed up large, heavy harnesses, bridles and other gear to travel to the National Western and shows in Nebraska and Indiana.

“The logistics of it is interesting,” said Cody. “You got all your tack and your buckets, your feed and grain. It’s like going to war a little bit.”

The family hauled six horses in a convoy led by a 2-ton truck pulling a 32-foot trailer. Someone followed in a smaller trailer.

The Kuehls are no longer in the breeding business and they have just five horses now. But there are plenty of reminders of the many years the family devoted to their horses and the business. Rows of ribbons, buckles, pins, posters and photos line the walls of rooms in the barn, tack room and the house where Jean and Dennis live. Cody’s paintings of horses and Western scenes hang in the living room.

Cody credits his father with helping to build the National Western draft horse show into a “world-class” event.

“I think dad really built something special there,” he said.

Dennis said it was a team effort. “I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for Jean. It takes a family to do this kind of stuff.”

If you’ve never spent time around livestock, you may not know what to look for.

Instead of worrying about learning everything about sheep, swine, alpacas, bison, or goats, focus on cattle, the true stars of the stock show. After all, only the grand champion steer gets invited to the Brown Palace for tea.

Cattle are assessed on their physical traits compared to an “ideal” standard for market or breeding, emphasizing profitability and functionality. Key criteria include structural correctness, muscling, volume, and overall balance.

Stock show judge Kyndal Reitzenstein emphasizes the differences between judging breeding cattle for reproduction and market animals for food.

Genetics and disposition

Chris Carnahan from Carnahan Ranches, a family-run cattle ranch in Kiowa whose members have competed every year since the stock show launched, said the family chooses its competitors based on outstanding genetics and gentle dispositions.

“When you approach the pens, look for animals that exhibit a sense of calm. A good disposition is critical,” the fifth-generation rancher said.

“Animals that are calm are easier to work with and showcase the best of what we breed.”

He suggests observing how the animals interact with their handlers; a relaxed demeanor signals that they’ve been well-trained and cared for.

Structural correctness

Look for the animal’s structural correctness, which refers to how well their bones and muscles align. From the spine down to the hooves, a well-structured animal will demonstrate strength and balance.

“The best animals at the stock show will be structurally correct. Look for depth, muscularity, and overall proportions,” Carnahan said.

Look for the muscle mass in their legs and the thickness from their feet to their tails; these characteristics are indicators of a well-bred animal.

Condition and weight

When assessing cattle, it’s essential to understand their specific uses.

Breeding heifers, for example, should carry weight without appearing overly fat.

In contrast, market steers should appear “fleshy” and noticeably heavier.

By inspecting their body composition, you can assess how well they’ve been raised. Look for visible ribs or bones.

Don’t be shy about asking questions

Reitzenstein said from a judge’s perspective, the stock show offers an ideal chance for the public to learn more about where the meat they eat comes from.

“Viewing livestock shows offers a chance to see a part of agriculture you haven’t seen before,” she said. “You can see how hard ranchers and producers work.”

One of the greatest advantages of attending the National Western Stock Show is the opportunity to engage with producers and gain insights.

Don’t hesitate to approach the pens and ask questions. Carnahan said his 12-year-old daughter enjoys sitting at her pen and providing answers.

“Producers are usually nearby and are more than willing to share their knowledge. There aren’t really any stupid questions; it’s all part of learning.”

Sara B. Hansen is a Denver-based freelance writer.

From there, let the initial chapter of his comeback script write itself.

In his first rodeo following open-heart surgery last March after a bull’s horn ruptured his tricuspid valve, Kippes stole the show on Wednesday at the National Western Stock Show. He ripped off a textbook ride during the matinee rodeo, then leapt from the bull named Ice Man and tumbled to the dirt.

When he sprang to his feet, the cowboy who grew up in Eaton pointed to the roaring crowd and smiled wide. His 83-point ride led the round. Kippes, whose future in rodeo was in jeopardy last spring, was back.

“It’s so easy to go through life, and especially in this sport, and feel like you’re entitled to success,” Kippes said. “But (Wednesday) was a blessing to be on the back of the bucking chutes again, at the rodeo that started this journey for me. It was excitement, but it was also gratitude and appreciation, first and foremost.

“… And this time around, I have a lot more to prove to myself than anyone else.”

‘A��true tough-as-nails cowboy’

The blunt force trauma to his chest at Rodeo Austin could’ve killed the 22-year-old, and it left his fledgling career hanging in the balance.

Dr. William Kessler, who performed Kippes’ surgery at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin, called the rider’s ability to return to rodeo That’s because Kessler was able to repair the tricuspid valve instead of replacing it with an artificial valve, which would’ve ended Kippes’ career.

In the ride where he got hurt, Kippes was bucked off a couple of seconds in, and as he fell, the bull raised its head and its horn impacted him directly in the right side of the chest.��Kippes briefly stood up from the dirt, had difficulty breathing, and then collapsed and lost consciousness.

When he underwent surgery four days after being hurt, he slipped under anesthesia, unsure if Kessler would be able to repair his tricuspid valve so that he could ride again. So when he woke up and got the good news, bull riding was the first thing that popped into his mind.

“Going into surgery, I was telling everyone that I didn’t really give two craps about (returning to rodeo) and that I wasn’t thinking about it,” Kippes said. “But deep down I knew I needed it, and without a doubt, I was praying to get back to it.”

The heart surgery was the most serious of a string of injuries that Kippes has endured since getting his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association card at 18.

He had two hip surgeries, and then suffered three more injuries in 2025 amid a career season that saw him shoot up to as high as 10th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association standings. He slipped a disc in his back in last year’s National Western Stock Show en route to placing fifth, then broke his jaw at a rodeo in Guthrie, Oklahoma, on the same ride where he posted a career-high 90-point score.

“I get a phone call from him and he goes, ‘Well, I just went 90 points,’ and I started hooping and hollering,” recalled Kippes’ fiancée, Blaize Deere. “Then he said, ‘But, um, I’m missing some teeth and my jaw is broken.’

“… He drove (about five hours) home through the night, unmedicated, and when he pulled up to the house, it looked like his entire face had been stung by a million bees. It was huge from the swelling of the broken jaw. I rushed him to the hospital, but like a true tough-as-nails cowboy, he was pretty unbothered.”

That anecdote sums up Kippes’ determination to ascend in a sport in which he’s shown signs of greatness from a young age.

Getting back in the chutes

Kippes’ introduction to bull riding came at 5, sitting up high inside the Denver Coliseum, watching the National Western Stock Show. He recalled “munching on cotton candy and kind of being bored to death with it all” — until the bull riders took the arena in the final event.

“It was like the world slowed down for 30 minutes,” Kippes said. “I was entranced. And in that moment, I decided that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”

Years of sacrifice followed. He and his mother moved from Evergreen to Eaton to be around more opportunities to pursue the sport in northern Colorado. His mom placed an ad on Craigslist to find Kippes’ first coach. Nicknamed “Mighty Mouse” as a youth because of his proclivity to ride bulls all day, Kippes and his mom moved again, this time to Stephenville, Texas — a.k.a. the — five years ago to further immerse the cowboy in the sport.

Along the way, Kippes leaned on his Christian faith while emerging as a star in the Colorado Pro Rodeo Association, winning the CPRA bull riding title and rookie of the year in the same season as a 16-year-old.

“When he was still living in Colorado, one time he set his phone up in his arena and got on a practice bull all by himself,” said Taylor Toves, a longtime friend and fellow bull rider. “He flanked the bull, got on him, pulled his own rope, opened the gate on his own. He’s the only one that I know personally that has ever done that without any help. That’s how invested he is in this sport and that kind of try has led (to his ascension).”

Hence, why as Kippes recovered from open-heart surgery, there was never any question if he was going to ride again, even if some in his life wanted him to step away from the sport.

While fundraising from the rodeo community netted Kippes about $30,000 for medical bills, helping him avoid bankruptcy, Kippes maintained the mindset that he’s “sacrificed way too much at this point to throw in the towel now.” He got back on the bucking barrel in October and started riding practice bulls in November.

“The day he got back (to live action), he got on a practice bull and rode the snot out of that sucker,” said Mana Kaia, a former bull rider who is Kippes’ mentor. “It was like he didn’t miss a lick.

“… But that’s how Tyler operates. His mindset is there’s not a bull in the world that he can’t ride. His dream is to nod his head in the yellow bucking chutes at the . If he can stay healthy, he could make the NFR every year.”

Toves echoed that prediction, noting that Kippes’ incessant training growing up — which likely led to the hip issue that he now has to manage — drilled impeccable technique into him.

“He keeps good bend in his legs and he rides on his legs a lot, and he gets out over bulls, which takes a lot of power away from them,” Toves said. “And when you do that, you can ride them no matter what they’re doing.”

After dominating Ice Man on Wednesday with that form in the matinee’s rousing final ride, Kippes was bucked off in the evening session. But his high first-ride score was enough to advance him into Saturday’s semifinals.

There, Kippes expects to continue his re-ascent at the rodeo that first made him fall in love with the sport, and then ushered his return to the arena this week following a life-threatening injury.

“It’s not a hope to be there (in Sunday’s short round),” Kippes said. “I darn sure will be, and you can mark my words on that.”

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

The love the 15-year-old Oklahoman develops for her animals as she prepares them for the pageantry of the auction floor makes saying goodbye at the end of the stock show that much harder, she says. Because, like other market animals, even the plush, adorable bovine winners end up butchered and sent to supermarkets.

“It’s always been very difficult for me, and almost every other exhibitor in this industry, to part from their animals,” Norvell, joined by her father, said in a phone interview with The Denver Post. “It is ultimately one of the best and worst parts of showing livestock.”

The industry, at the end of the day, is about selling meat meant to feed the masses, she said. It’s a lesson she learned at a young age from her parents, Beth and Tyler Norvell, who themselves trained and groomed market animals for stock shows when they were kids.

As a celebration of that industry, the Stock Show’s junior livestock auction showcases fine market and breeding animals and the children and teens who care for them. Year after year, it’s the steers that draw the most attention from the public for their pint-sized figures and manicured coats of hair. The ones named Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion by the judges make a ceremonious visit at the end of the day to the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in downtown Denver.

Last year, it was Madilyn’s steer, Thunder, who took top honors at the junior show — followed by a record-breaking bid of $210,000 at auction.

Steers are young, neutered males raised specifically for beef. The ones that participate in the stock show were usually purchased a year in advance, said Dr. Jennifer Martin, an associate professor at Colorado State University and stock show superintendent.

The Norvells’ purchase of Thunder, who they named after Oklahoma City’s basketball team, went differently. Weeks before nominations were due, the family bought the steer from Madilyn’s friend, Sadie Winne, who they said had trained him for months but was unable to show him.

“He was always super friendly. He was incredible around kids. He kind of became like a best friend to me,” Madilyn said. “Not only did I have a bond with him, but my whole family had a bond with him. My best friend had a bond with him.”

Madilyn’s first experience at the National Western Stock Show was in 2020, when she was 9 years old and showing market pigs.

She took Thunder’s halter rope from Winne and spent days, from morning to sunset, training and pampering him for competition. A significant portion of that training involves “working” their hair, which grows long and receives attention from the judges. Washing it every day, blowing it out and adding product to make it shine helps the coat grow and adds volume, Madilyn said.

A typical training routine consists of walking the animal and guiding it with a halter over the muzzle. It eats commercial steer feed that is high on carbs, proteins and fat, maybe with some molasses mixed in for sweetness, Martin said.

Come show time, the steer is fluffy as a cotton ball and ready for a(u)ction.

The steers are entered into a weight class and ranked by a panel of three judges. Those judges inspect each animal’s build and bone structure. They dig their fingers deep into the animal’s hair.

“When we think about a market animal that is going to be slaughtered and go into the meat supply chain, they’re looking for muscle, they’re looking for appropriate amounts of fat,” said Martin. “Do they balance that well? Are they attractive-looking?”

The steers named Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion are then auctioned. The money goes to the winning family, with a portion going to a trust that provides college scholarships for agricultural and rural studies.

The record-breaking bid for Thunder was placed by an agricultural manufacturing company founded by Buck Hutchison, a founder of the junior livestock auction who died in 2024.

Given their pedigree and the stage on which they’re judged, the steers represent the best beef the cattle industry has to offer. The stock show sells them to feed lots, which take them to meat-packing plants, Martin said. Eventually, their beef goes on sale in the meat aisles of the nation’s grocery stores for a profit.

It’s a bittersweet departure that resembles a coming-of-age ritual. The National Western Stock Show does its part to make it an event, honoring the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion steers in the posh surroundings of the Brown Palace the day of the auction.

They are taken to feed lots the next day. Madilyn and Winne, who had accompanied her to the stock show, watched Thunder disappear and go off to an unknown destination.

Madilyn’s father, a cattle industry lobbyist in his home state, has attended farewells where grown men in cowboy hats break down in tears, he said. Her daughter is a sophomore and hopes to keep showing animals for as long as she can, including alongside her younger sister at this year’s junior livestock auction Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.

“The whole entire reason why we’re involved in this industry is ultimately to feed people,” Madilyn said. “I know that because of my contribution to this industry and to our community, I am able to help feed as many people as possible.”

For the event’s organizers, the auction is less about the money and more about the educational experience for the young exhibitor, Martin said.

“More importantly, that prize is respect from your fellow producers who are also trying to raise really high-quality animals,” she said.

For the carnivore consumer, the best part could potentially be found in the meat aisle of their local grocery store.

The television show debuted in 2018 and aired for five seasons, starring Kevin Costner as the head of a Montana ranching family. It also led to related streaming productions and a variety of merchandise, including jewelry by Kendra Scott, eyewear from Diff, and even a restaurant, The Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas. (The eatery is named after the Texas ranch in which show creator Taylor Sheridan is an investor.)

The trend is also heavily influenced by music. When megastar Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album debuted in 2024, featuring a cover image of her in a rodeo-inspired outfit, it fueled further Western fashion fervor and brought diversity to the trend. Last fall, CBS premiered “The Road,” a series following a dozen musicians competing as opening acts for country star Keith Urban, with fellow musician Blake Shelton and — once again — Taylor Sheridan as producers. In cities from Dallas to Nashville, the aspiring Country singers perform in front of audiences clad in cowboy boots and hats.

Western wear, long a staple in Colorado, comes and goes on the national and international scene. Unlike the “Urban Cowboy” fad of the 1980s — propelled by the John Travolta film and epitomized by flashy outfits — modern Western wear is more lifestyle- and heritage-based, while still a great way to dress for a night out at such spots as Belles & Boots in Denver’s LoDo entertainment district.

“You have a good time in cowboy boots and a hat,” said Taylor Woodard, owner of The Shop Outpost on East Colfax, which specializes in vintage Western wear and home decor. “You feel happier, lighter. It taps into authentic nostalgia for the past, a slower time when things were easy going. There is a sense of freedom that goes along with (clothing that has) a distinctly American heritage.”

Woodard had a dual purpose when opening the shop. Not only does she love Western wear personally, but she also appreciates the idea of sustainable fashion. “I am grateful for the younger demographic of shoppers who want to combat fast fashion by buying vintage,” she said. “They are cognizant of what a large polluter clothing production is to the environment. Plus, with vintage, you can find beautiful pieces that are so well-made and handcrafted. There’s some history to them. You’re not going to look like everyone else.”

Woodward says her core demographic is customers aged 25-40, evenly split between men and women. The store hosts hat parties, where people customize a Western hat with bands, beads, feathers and brands. Accommodating up to 30 guests, these parties have become a popular way to celebrate birthdays, engagements and other special occasions.

Hat parties are also a staple at two other retailers in Denver’s Cherry Creek North shopping area. Hats by Parker Thomas and Rancher Hat Bar customize hats for customers by appointment and also host events in addition to stocking ready-to-wear items.

In November, Western wear sashayed onto the stage at Denver Fashion Week for the second year as one of the production’s theme nights, drawing an audience of several hundred people. Runway producer Nikki Strickler chooses the designers and retailers each season. “Trend-casting plays a part in our selection process and Western is very trendy in the music and fashion worlds right now,” she said. “I start with the first brand — this year it was Rockmount Ranch Wear, which is a classic. Then I’ll do a trendier take, and a fun styling version of Western,” she said of the runway collections by Bailey Heyman, Spytful and Denver retailer April & West.

Another notable fashion event was September’s Double D Ranchwear fashion show presented by Women of the National Western. Originally conceived by Angela S. Lieurance as a shopping pop-up featuring the Texas-based, women-owned brand, it grew into a major runway production attended by 200 women, and a two-day boutique.

Lieurance, director of the Honoring the Legacy Capital Committee, which is charged with raising $150 million for the National Western Center, said people have asked her for years where she finds her Western attire. Her go-to brand is Double D, and she decided to bring the company’s clothing and accessories to town since the high-end merchandise isn’t widely available locally now.

“Double D is known for expert craftsmanship and exquisite detail, and there are stories to all their collections,” Lieurance said. “In one jacket, you could have fur, studs, beading and embroidery. It����ap appealing at that level, but at a bigger level, the clothes are comfortable and authentic. Women told me that they know they aren’t the size or age of the models on the runway, but they could relate to the clothes.”

Lieurance saids Colorado and its casual lifestyle are a match for Western wear.�� “We have a lot of transplants here,” she said. “I always tell people I’m a Midwesterner who’s more ‘West’ now than ‘Mid.’”

Whether or not it����ap considered trendy, Western wear is part of Colorado’s DNA, said Tara Kaufman, associate curator of clothing and textile arts at History Colorado.

“Today it is recognized as a classic American style, but it has always been a hybrid aesthetic, borne from the many cultures that collided during Westward expansion, including Spanish cattle culture, Native American cultures, Mexico and European settlers.”

Kaufman attributes the interest in Western wear partly to the popularity of country music, “but also because it����ap an iconic and versatile style, through which people can express diverse facets of American identity, from rodeo to black cowboys to gay pride. Its hybrid nature makes it one of the most enduring styles of all time. It has all of these influences that people can play with to express themselves.”

The combination of function and fun is also key to its appeal. Pointed-toe boots not only look good, but they also are easy to slip into saddle stirrups, and wide-brim hats help protect the rider’s head from the sun, she said.

Colorado is also important to the history of Western wear, Kaufman said, “because major Western wear companies like Miller Stockman and Rockmount Ranch Wear were both founded here and played a role in distributing and popularizing the style.”

Kaufman, whose mother grew up on a Nebraska ranch, recalled her first memories of Western wear were when she saw her grandfather dressed in jeans and boots as a child. “And my cousins continue to wear it today,” she said, “from the belt buckles and shirts to hats and boots.”

Where to get your Western on

• Belles & Boots country bar and restaurant opened in April, joining Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row as a Western-themed entertainment venue in Denver’s LoDo district.
• The OG of such destinations locally is The Grizzly Rose, where acts from Garth Brooks to Taylor Swift have performed since 1989. Line dancing lessons, two mechanical bulls, and live music six nights a week make the place a popular draw.
• In November, chef Michael Sanguinetti debuted Neon Cowboy in Denver’s Washington Park neighborhood. It offers coffee and light bites beginning at 7 a.m. and cocktails later in the day. The space is also available for special events and dinners.
• Other longtime area venues for enjoying a meal in a Western-themed setting are The Buckhorn Exchange and The Fort.
• Need an overnight stay after all that dancing and drinking? The Urban Cowboy Hotel in Capitol Hill is a Queen Anne-style mansion with 16 individually decorated suites. Additional locations are in Nashville, Brooklyn and the Catskills.

Suzanne S. Brown is the former features editor at The Denver Post and owns more Western shirts, boots and belts than she’d care to admit.

Hagege is the official featured artist at this year’s Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, an event that takes place alongside the National Western Stock Show. His selection makes sense, considering the way his work bridges the past and present of the art form.

Hagege’s oil paintings take on Western art����ap familiar subjects. Cowboys tussle with agitated horses. Native Americans traverse desert terrain. Landscapes unfold over vast, rocky tracts, engulfed by big skies.

For anyone who is looking, there are easy-to-find references to pioneers of the genre, particularly to artists associated with the rich cultural history of Taos and the rest of New Mexico. Names like Maynard Dixon, Martin Hennings and Walter Ufer�� — painters who kept their edges sharp and their shades bold — might come to mind.

But Hagege’s work moves it all forward, and with considerable freedom. He indulges in color, collecting his hues from the natural surroundings of his scenery but then taking them to extremes. Skies appear extra-blue, hollyhocks come in brilliant reds and pinks.

And his implied narratives are full of a quiet drama, stories he starts with the facts he observes on the ground, traveling out from his studio in Ojai, Calif., but then enhances with his own imagination as he paints.

Hagege acknowledges that the roots of his work rest in soil made fertile by the Western painters that came before him. As an artist working today, he stands on their shoulders. “They figured out a lot for me, and I feel like I’ve continued on from where they left off,” he said in a recent interview.

But his voice is distinct and free-flowing. While those earlier painters worked to document the evolving West of their day — particularly for their collectors who lived back in the East and had never seen it — Hagege is more likely to paint the fantasies that unfold in his head as he works.

“I sort of turn my brain off when I paint,” he said. “And what comes out, comes out.”

Hagege begins his process like many other artists. He explores the region, taking photos and making sketches. Then he brings that raw material back to Ojai, where he lives with his family (along with the sheep and chickens they raise). His studio is in a separate space about 100 feet from his main house, he said.

He mixes and matches the pictures and comes up with his own fictionalized scenarios. “I take those photos and sketches and sort of put them back together, and they turn into the finished studio paintings,” he said.

He might exaggerate a rockscape, or turn a cloud into an abstract shape in the background of his painting. “So, it kind of looks like a cloud, but that’s not really how clouds look necessarily,” he explained. “But it’s representational enough where you still can kind of tell what it is.”

The humans in his paintings tend to be solemn, mysterious, and often on journeys to locations unknown. “These are all real people who I know, and who I’ve developed relationships with over the years,” he sad.

But he is not beholden to their actual stories; more like their traditions, which he tries to capture the essence of. For him, that freedom is a way of breaking loose from the genre’s unwritten rules and speaking with his own artistic voice.

“I sort of go into a flow state and just work,” he said. “A lot of times I don’t even feel like I’m responsible for what I’m doing.”

That said, Hagege’s paintings do tend to have a distinct style, and much of that comes from those color choices. They can appear hyper-bold, adding a comic or cartoon tone to otherwise serious settings.

“That probably goes back to my early influences,” he said. “I was really into comics and animation when I was younger before I led myself into fine art painting.”

Still, he believes the colors in his paintings stand out because viewers do not expect to see them in his Southwest landscapes. “People don’t really think of the desert as a vibrant, colorful place, but there really is a lot of color out there already.”

As a painter, he has learned to see and exploit contrasts, to use those desert browns as a counterpoint to the other shades on his canvases.

“When you set a bright color like a sky or a colorful blanket that somebody might be wearing against those more muted tones, those colors are exaggerated that much more,” he said.

His work has been referred to as “stylized realism,” though he is not sure any specific phrase fits exactly.

“You know, the word ‘style’ for me gets tricky because I feel like when I think of a style, it feels concrete,” he said. “So I like to just think of it as my artistic voice, and that voice can change over time.”

IF YOU GO

The Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale is part of the National Western Stock Show and is included with entry tickets. More information is at .

For the first time in two decades, the Denver-founded Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo isn’t a part of the National Western Stock Show, which kicked off Jan. 10 and runs through Jan. 25. The stock show instead partnered with a different organization, Black Rodeo USA out of Phoenix, to produce the event on Monday, which featured bronc riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, mutton bustin’, ladies’ “steer un-decorating,” and more.