Cheyenne Frontier Days

By Carrie Barker

I’ve had a cowboy hat tucked into the top of my closet for years, and this weekend I pulled it down for the very first time to wear at Cheyenne Frontier Days. I’ll admit, the classic style felt awkward at first, but while walking in an excited crowd of the big-brimmed hats I felt like I fit right in. And by the time I’d seen the first rodeo event, I was feeling like a genuine Western cowgirl.

And for the record, I’ve been to rodeos before, but nothing has compared to the Daddy of ‘Em All. From I-25 you can see the bright lights and colors of the carnival and the tops of the tee-pees in Indian Village. When you pull into the dusty parking lot, there are pickup trucks and horses occupying every other space — yes, horses had their own parking space. The midway is packed with fair-style food vendors selling funnel cakes topped with ice cream, smoked turkey legs and corn dogs. Once you smell it all, you won’t be able to resist.

My CFD companions and I saddled up on the press deck right above the chutes to watch the rodeo action. The bulls and broncos bucked the riders around like ragdolls, and the steer wrestling really got the crowd cheering. My favorite event was the wild horse race, and I’m not sure if the horses or the racing was the wild part, both were pretty out of control. Teams of three cowboys have to saddle a wild horse and ride it around the arena; first to accomplish this hair-brained challenge wins.

The rodeo cowboys enjoying a cold one after the event.

I’m already counting the days until I can do it all again, and this time I can’t wait to bring more of my friends. I still want to check out the parade, air show, Buckin-A Saloon and one of the nightly big-name concerts — fingers crossed to see Zac Brown Band. Since the show goes on through July 31, I might not wait a whole year.

My advice? Dust off your cowboy hat and download the CFD app for your smart phone before you go, that way you can look up the schedule, rodeo results and more while you’re there.




And check out this 1964 souvenir program that my Grandma has kept so long. I finally understand why she and my Grandpa loaded all the kids into the station wagon every summer and drove to Wyoming from Kalamazoo, Michigan to see Cheyenne Frontier Days. 

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