NWSS 32nd Edition

Yesterday was the 32nd year in a row that I have gone to Stockshow. The National Western Stock Show grew out of the great cattle drives in the fall. Cattle ranchers from Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico would sort their herds in the fall, gather up the cattle that they wanted to sell, and drive them slowly (so they wouldn’t lose weight) to the cattle sales in Kansas City and Denver. At the cattle sales, buyers from back east would bid on the cattle, then load them into cattle cars and ship them by rail back to the Eastern markets. As great swathes of Open Range  was bought up by ranchers, who fenced in the great prairies with barbed wire, the great cattle drives slowly dwindled. As did the men and some women who made their living working cattle from the back of their horse. As an aside, if you want to read a great book about a good man with a horse, told during the era when cattle and horses and open plains made up a lifestyle, look for Monte Walsh, by Jack Schaffer. It’s now on Amazon in the Kindle store and is one of my favorite books of all time. The Stockshow grew out of that tradition.

Now, instead of the cattle being brought in by ranchers in huge herds, a lot of the animals brought to the Stockshow are part of the 4-H program, and FFA programs still being offered in these states. Kids raise cattle, pigs, sheep, llamas, and goats as part of the 4-H program, bring them to stock show and show them in what amounts to a halter class for the animals. Then the animals are auctioned off. One of the stories they shared this year was of a kid who lost her father and because of that, her mother, herself and two sibs were homeless. They were taken in by a neighbor and given a RV to live in. The girl was given a yearling calf that she worked with through the 4-H program. They got the steer to the auction where he sold for 140k. That money helped get her family back on it’s feet and into a home of their own. I was a 4-H kid, learning horsemanship and cooking. The lessons I learned then have stayed with me throughout my life.

This year, like last, I went with a group of women from the barn. Last year it was G and I and myself. This year we brought Flambé and JL, Navaar’s owner. We met in a heavy snowstorm at the park n ride in Thornton, and I drove us down. I took back roads and was about to pull into my normal parking lot, when G and I protested. We ended up driving around and parking in a remote lot with a shuttle, which picked up at the Event Center and took us directly there. They were right. It was a much better option when we were leaving at 9:30 at night. We parked in the snow and slogged through muddy water and slush to await our chariot. 

We started in the Event Center with a list of the food we planned to consume throughout the day. How can a day go wrong when it starts out that way? Popcorn and BBQ and Corn Dogs were on the list. There were some impromptu additions as we walked through the booths looking at things. I was in search of a scarf to round out the outfit I am putting together for the May show. It was the final piece I needed, although I am still thinking about getting black spur straps so they don’t clash with my boots. Anyway, we headed out to examine all of the things for sale at the show.

Thunder, the Bronco’s mascot and distant cousin of Ashke.

I can not begin to tell you how incredibly fun it was. I think we laughed for seven straight hours. They are witty and hilarious and get my sense of humor. It was a day filled with great company, good food and a lot of joy. Flambé was amazed at the number of items the food vendors were willing to dip into batter and drop into the deep fryer. We saw deep-fried Oreos, red-velvet oreos, snickers, mars bars, twinkies, donuts, funnel cake to name a few. At one point Flambé asked if we were in Texas, because of the number of fried foods. We said no, because in Texas there would have been friend butter.

She looked at me very skeptically. Really? Deep fried butter? Wouldn’t the butter melt and get all over?

I grinned and said, “On your hands, and your chin, and your cheeks, and dripping down your chest . . . . . Kind of like really good sex.”

Everyone howled.

We looked at a lot of jewelry, clothing, boots, hats, and jackets. By about 3:30, I was getting a bit hungry and so we stopped at my favorite grill and picked up food.

BBQ pork with mashed potatoes, corn and baked beans.

The roll was on the side (I didn’t eat it).

Hunger satisfied, we headed out to examine more stuff. We found a fudge seller and spent several minutes picking out and paying for fudge. I took a pretty good chunk of it home for T and J. Then we walked around the corner toward the horse trailers and in the place where one of our local dealers has been for years, was a Candy Maze instead. There were huge bins of misc candy and it was only 99 cents a pound. The kind of candy I was able to find when I was a kid, but isn’t in normal stores any more. I got Bit-o-Honey, Zotz, Smarties, Carmel Apple Pops, Charm Sweet & Sour pops, Tootsie Rolls and taffy from the bins, added a bag of Sugar Babies and an Abba-Zabba bar and walked out a happy camper. 

Picture of how I want to tie the scarf. For memory enhancement later.

I went to lead us downstairs to the Stadium Arena, when G said she wanted to finish the floor we were on, so we walked over to Steamboat Ranch. It was there that I found the scarf I didn’t realize I was missing. 

I forgot to get a pic of it in the packaging. You can’t really tell, but the knot is correct.

It is super soft, silk I think, and it goes with the shirt, vest and boots I will be wearing to show in. I am so happy that I am putting together an outfit that not only I like, but that I feel comfortable in. I loved the jacket that my mom made, but have never really felt comfortable in that style of clothes. I think this brings me back to my roots and puts me in a style that makes me feel me, that takes me back to my childhood and the first shows I ever went to. (I did have a powder blue show suit when I was sixteen that also worked as a disco outfit. I was so hip.) Flambé got a Kerrits jacket that was 30% off (don’t you love deals like that?) 

After we left that vendor, I led them down the stairs to the Stadium Arena. The Semen Sales people weren’t there (cracks me up) but there are always interesting vendors in that section. We were about to leave the Stadium Arena when I saw it . . . A bag with lots of gear loops and pockets. I squeee’d in joy and rushed over. The guy behind the counter wasn’t satisfied with just selling me a bag, he wanted to show us all the bells and whistles. The brand is Dajo (Dave and Jo. Married couple that created the line) and they were freaking cool. I ended up buying the medium one (they had three different sizes) because the small one was not big enough of all of my stuff, especially my iPad and the large one was too big for daily use. It would have been great for a day pack, but a bit much for my “purse”.

I really should have taken a picture at either of their booths. We visited both.

Pic from the Dajo Adventure Gear website.


Front sling harness

It’s actually a tripoint sling, if you like that style

You can also bundle everything up in the pouch in the back and carry it by the little loop.

Nice option that I will never use.

Tripoint attachment in the front. Keeps the bag comfortable and doesn’t add weight to your shoulders.

G also got one for herself in the same size, only in royal blue. I was tickled because I collect bags the way other people collect shoes.

We left the Stadium arena and walked across the walkway to the Coliseum, passing food trucks we were too full to visit. When we walked into the Coliseum, G exclaimed “there are more shops over here”. I guess in the nine years she’s been going they’ve never made it to the Coliseum. We walked the circle of vendors, and stopped to purchase Colorado themed stickers for the cars. I got a Tinkerbell and a Death Star to go on my car. Thanks Flambé for getting them for us.

We were getting tired, so we walked back over to the Event Center and found our seats, after picking up a bag of popcorn on the way. It felt good to sit down for a while. It was easy to continue our conversations and sharing of stories while waiting for the Gambler’s Choice to start. Just as it was about to start, we made our way to the food vendor and purchased corn dogs, which might have been the best corn dogs I’ve ever eaten. Nothing like fair food.

Andalusian stallion presenting the colors.

The Anthem was a hard rock guitar rendition.

I thought that was a bit strange for the venue, but what do I know.

Action shots are blurry

We were in the stands really close to this jump. 

If you look close, this woman is competing without stirrups or a bit in her horse’s mouth.

I guess she damaged her ankles, had surgery on them, but can’t put any pressure in the stirrup.

Still jumping. Equestrians are crazy.

So, this event is the Gambler’s Choice. The jumps all have assigned values based on their difficulty.

You have one minute to accumulate as many points as you can. All of the jumps are in the 4’ range.

At the end of the minute, the rider has the option of jumping the joker fence, which carries a point value of 200.

The fence is 5’3” tall and if you knock it down, you lose 200 points off your score.

All of the riders tried and only a couple of them took down the top rail.

Some horses were more exuberant

Some of the horses got buried at the base of the jump, but leapt like gazelles.

If you took a rail down that jump was not able to be jumped again.

You could jump each jump twice, but that was it.

Joker fence. I don’t know how the rider managed to stay on.

Some horses opted to run into the fence rather than going over.

The next step the horse knocked the entire thing down.

Rider assessing the joker fence before making the attempt.

Some of the horse and rider combinations were awesome.

Some of them you wanted to beat the rider for the way they rode.

This was the horse that won the event.

Same horse jumping the Joker fence

All that was left at that point was to pick up our things, make our way to the shuttle and get back to the car. It was such a fun outing and the company was so awesome. I think we are going to make it an annual thing.