Cheyenne Frontier Days Informations

Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of the largest of its kind in the world, draws nearly 200,000 annually. Lodging fills up quickly during the peak tourist season throughout southern and eastern Wyoming, into northern Colorado and western Nebraska. The celebration is held during the ten days centered about the last full week of July. In 2008, Cheyenne Frontier Days was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

The rodeo draws visitors from different parts of the United States as well as internationally. These visitors generally stay in hotels, motels, or in recreational vehicles. High temperatures around 81 °F (27 °C) and fair weather are normal for the time of year when this event is held; the elevation is approximately 6,150 feet (1,870 m) above sea level.

Cowboy style bars and country and western themed establishments scattered throughout the city of Cheyenne are popular with many rodeo fans and participants, and they file in in large numbers after the night shows.

Prior to the annual kickoff of Cheyenne Frontier Days on a Friday, the annual Cattle Drive is held on the preceding Sunday morning. This event, which attracts considerable attention, is inspired by the cattle drives of the Old West. In 2013, 447 steers, herded by mounted cowboys, walked three miles from Hynds Boulevard into Frontier Park. In 2015, 550 steers walked this route. It starts from a pasture north of the city and runs along Interstate 25, south and then through the city streets aforementioned into the park.

Cheyenne Frontier Days has a full-time staff of 17 people year round, and an estimated 3,000 volunteers, of whom a small number are paid. There is preparation before the event and cleanup after the event as well as all of the work that needs performed during the actual event.

In 2014, Cheyenne Frontier Days received the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year award for the 16th total and 11th consecutive time. Frontier Days runs nine days with more sections of bull riding, saddle and bareback bronc riding than any other rodeo. The rodeo is also known for its large number of participants. All events are performed each day. The rodeo draws many of the sports top competitors due to its more than $1 million in cash and prizes available.

Frontier Days delivers three types of competition: roughstock events, timed events, and racing on the track. Roughstock events include bull riding, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and rookie saddle bronc riding. Timed events include steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, and women's barrel racing. Tie-down roping includes calf roping, steer roping, and senior steer roping. Some of the timed events are shown during slack. After all of the events are concluded, there is an all-around champion winner.

There are also a few other select events which include saddle bronc futurity, trick riding, the wild horse race, and the dinner bell derby.

Slack events are events that do not fit into the normal rodeo hours in the afternoon. Slack rodeo events are open to the public at no charge and usually take place in the early to mid morning hours. Slack events include calf roping, team roping, steer roping, barrel racing, and steer wrestling.

Cinch rodeo shootout is a one-day event composed of 40 competitors taking place in five events for one afternoon. At the end there is one winner. Competitors are professionals and college national champions. There is also a team format where the team represents a local business and winnings are donated to charity. Both the individual and team format is an elimination style contest. Participation is by invitation.

The five events are bareback bronc riding, barrel racing, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, and steer wrestling. The Cinch Rodeo does not take place every year as tour locations are determined annually and every rodeo does not make the list year.

Starting in 2019, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) are bringing the elite Unleash the Beast Series Last Cowboy Standing event, one of the sport's four majors. Previously, the Last Cowboy Standing event was held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This move to the world's largest outdoor rodeo expands on a growing partnership. The event will be held for two evenings during Frontier Days. Last Cowboy Standing is one of the PBR's premier events, which means that the event will host the top bull riders and bulls in the PBR.

The PBR had a Touring Pro Division event at Cheyenne Frontier Days for many years. It started in 2001 and ran through 2010. In 2011, the stand-alone bull riding event at Cheyenne Frontier Days became sanctioned by Championship Bull Riding (CBR), then from 2012 to 2018, it became the world finals event for said organization.

Cheyenne Frontier Days features nightly concerts by popular music and comedy acts, a midway, a fair with rides, games, and food vendors, wild west shows featuring Western riding, an Indian village, and a large PRCA nationally sanctioned rodeo. A common moniker for the event is "The Daddy of 'em All®", based on its long history and the fact that the rodeo is billed as the largest such event in the world. The rodeo and the majority of the events are centered on the property of Frontier Park, but some of the events such as the pancake breakfasts are held in a different part of the city.

Three free pancake breakfasts are served each year which are sponsored by the local Kiwanis chapter. They are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with close to 40,000 people taking advantage of this every year. The record for a daily breakfast is 39,111 people set in 1996. In one week, over 100,000 pancakes are served, along with over 3,000 pounds of ham. This event was started in 1952 by the Cheyenne Frontier Committee. The food is cooked on military ranges. The event takes place at the historic Cheyenne Depot Square.

On the days in between the free pancake breakfasts, the city of Cheyenne hosts the Grand Parade in the morning. The parade starts at the Wyoming State Capitol, goes down to the Cheyenne Depot Square, and then returns to the Wyoming State Capitol on an alternate street. Until 1925, with two exceptions, the Frontier Days parades were rowdy affairs. In 1926, upon request, Dazee Bristol created floats which are still in use today. The parade is now composed of floats, automobiles, horse-drawn antique carriages, riders in period dress, and top marching bands.

In 1898, shortly after the second Frontier Days occurred, the committee extended an invitation to Native American performers to participate in following Frontier Days. Since then, they have participated every year. One popular attraction is the Native American Village which is open throughout Frontier Days and is free. Historically, the visiting performers shifted their campground around until in the 1960s when the committee established a permanent campground, the "Indian Village." The Indian Village hosts authentic dancing, music, storytelling, and pow-wows. There are also exhibit booths and food vendors.

Behind the Chutes tours are free. There are 1–3 tours every day of Frontier Days. The tour follows the same path that the bucking broncs and bulls take from the pens behind the arena. The tour shows where the livestock is kept and rounded up. Then the tour follows where livestock go through gates to the chutes. Then it is out into the arena and the tour is finished by walking across the arena. Depending on what time the tour is taken, there might be livestock in the pens.

Authentic chuckwagon crews visit for a few days to demonstrate life on the Goodnight Trail, which was more than 100 years ago. Crews cook with standard ingredients; meals are judged and can also be tasted by the public. They are also judged on their wagon, tools, and campsite. The Championship Cookoff takes place on the last demonstration day. However, the champions do not get their buckles until the rodeo finals day.

The Old Frontier Town (previously Wild Horse Gulch) is open every day of Frontier Days. It is free and is located between the Old West Museum and the Indian Village. There are merchants, guest characters, and/or craftspeople and artisans in some buildings.

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