MUTTON BUSTIN’
The National Western Stock Show has been held annually every January at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado since it started in 1906. The purpose of the event is to better inform stockmen on breeding and feeding techniques and equipment. The founders included Elias M. Ammons, president of the Colorado Cattle and Horse Growers Association and later governor of Colorado; George Ballentine, general manager of the Denver Union Stock Yard Company; and Fred P. Johnson, publisher of the Record Stockman. Since first held, in 1906, it has become the world’s largest stock show by the number of animals and offers the world’s only carload and pen cattle show.
The Quarter Horse Competition at the National Western Stock Show was originally limited to the western United States, the show was expanded to include entrants from around the world. A horse show was included as an annual event in the early 1900s, and a rodeo was added in 1931. By 1925, the 4-H Roundup event was also held in conjunction with the stock show. By 1981 the organization owned numerous buildings, more than twenty acres of stockyards and several acres of parking.
National Western Stock Show Parade on Downtown Denver’s 17th Street starts this event off with fanfair – horses, cowboys & cowgirls, cattle and marching bands! All of Denver leaves their Holiday lights up to welcome the crowds who pour into town by the hundreds of thousands to participate in and attend the events. The stock show is governed by the Western Stock Show Association, a Colorado 501 (c)3 institution, which produces the annual National Western Stock Show in an effort to forward the association’s mission: “To preserve the western lifestyle by providing a showcase for the agricultural industry through emphasis on education, genetic development, innovative technology and offering the world’s largest agricultural marketing opportunities”.
Some proceeds from the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo go to the National Western Scholarship Trust which awards 64 scholarships annually to students studying agriculture and veterinary medicine at colleges and universities in Colorado and Wyoming, encouraging them to return to rural areas after graduation.
The horse shows at the annual National Western Stock Show are among the largest in the world with more than 18,000 entries vying for the events, including Quarter Horses, Paint Horses, Hunters & Jumpers, FUSE Open Horse Shows, Mules Shows, plus the Draft Horse Show & Pull competition.
The National Western Rodeo is nationally recognized as one of the largest indoor rodeos and has won honors from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), including multiple Indoor Rodeo of the Year titles. Additionally, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, inducted the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in 2008.
MORE PHOTOS OF THE NATIONAL WESTERN:
Everything Western that appeals to ranchers is sold by hundreds of vendors.
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(Source: ARTS&FOOD Staff photos (taken with permission), Natl. Western website, and Wikipedia)
