The "Daddy of 'em All" finishes strong in 2006
Photo ~ 6-time World Champion Saddle Bronc rider, Dan Mortensen, makes a successful ride during the 2005 Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. Mortensen won the 2006 Saddle Bronc title in Cheyenne, earning over $18,000.
(Image copyright Lincoln Rogers. May not be copied or used without written permission)
(Blog uses excerpts from a previously published article by Lincoln Rogers. The Fence Post Magazine. August 2005)
The 2006 Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) rodeo, nicknamed the "Daddy of 'em All," chalked up another successful run for the historic Wyoming event. Since the first 6-hour performance before about 4,000 spectators in 1897, cowboys have circled Cheyenne on their calendars with bold strokes. The list of past and present competitors is impressive, and includes legends such as 16-time world champion, Jim Shoulders. Shoulders won more buckles than anyone else at the historic Wyoming rodeo, and he remembers it well.
“Its history didn’t make as much difference to me as the money,” said the candid Oklahoman. “As a rodeo cowboy trying to make a living, it was always the money. Those major rodeos, they were the key.”
When not focused on earning a living, Shoulders did notice how much CFD meant, socially and economically, to the surrounding community.
“Of course, Cheyenne used to be a happening,” recalled the ProRodeo Hall of Famer in a 2005 interview, speaking by telephone from the comfort of his home. “It was one-of-a-kind when I got there (in the 1940’s). The town was strictly rodeo."
Though much has changed in over 100 years, enthusiasm for this annual cowboy slice of July remains unchanged, and it draws more than a half-million visitors throughout ten days of rodeo action and 11 days of western-style amusements.
“It is remarkable that a town of this size supports such a large event with the volunteers they have,” observed Harry Vold, an 11-time PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year and producer of the world-famous rodeo for over 30 years. “This one is in a class by itself.”
Vold may well have been reading the thoughts of a Sun Ledger newspaper reporter from 1897, who wrote of the very first Frontier Days celebration: “… the greatest and most successful occasion ever celebrated in the West… thousands of visitors from all over… could not have possibly expected a more perfect day in every respect… it was good fun and good money.”
In 2006, 109 years later, it was good fun, good money… and good history.
“Its history didn’t make as much difference to me as the money,” said the candid Oklahoman. “As a rodeo cowboy trying to make a living, it was always the money. Those major rodeos, they were the key.”
When not focused on earning a living, Shoulders did notice how much CFD meant, socially and economically, to the surrounding community.
“Of course, Cheyenne used to be a happening,” recalled the ProRodeo Hall of Famer in a 2005 interview, speaking by telephone from the comfort of his home. “It was one-of-a-kind when I got there (in the 1940’s). The town was strictly rodeo."
Though much has changed in over 100 years, enthusiasm for this annual cowboy slice of July remains unchanged, and it draws more than a half-million visitors throughout ten days of rodeo action and 11 days of western-style amusements.
“It is remarkable that a town of this size supports such a large event with the volunteers they have,” observed Harry Vold, an 11-time PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year and producer of the world-famous rodeo for over 30 years. “This one is in a class by itself.”
Vold may well have been reading the thoughts of a Sun Ledger newspaper reporter from 1897, who wrote of the very first Frontier Days celebration: “… the greatest and most successful occasion ever celebrated in the West… thousands of visitors from all over… could not have possibly expected a more perfect day in every respect… it was good fun and good money.”
In 2006, 109 years later, it was good fun, good money… and good history.
The following cowboys and cowgirls ended up on the winning side of the 2006 ledger.
(Information provided courtesy of the PRCA)
2006 Cheyenne Frontier Days Tour, Average Champions
Bareback Riding
T: J.D. Garrett Jr. (Grandview, Texas), 86 points
A: Forest Bramwell (Pagosa Springs, Colo.), 250 points on three head, $15,880
Steer Wrestling
T: Glen Clark (Streetman, Texas), 7.3 seconds
A: Linn Churchill (Valentine, Neb.), 22.0 seconds on three head, $23,446
Team Roping
T: Garrett Tonozzi (Fruita, Colo.)/York Gill (Memphis, Tenn.), 8.8 seconds
A: Colter Todd (Marana, Ariz.)/Cesar de la Cruz (Tucson, Ariz.), 25.0 seconds on three head, $14,804 each
Saddle Bronc Riding
T: (tie) Dan Mortensen (Billings, Mont.) and Cody Wright (Milford, Utah), 83 points
A: Mortensen, 251 points on two head, $18,843
Tie-Down Roping
T: Cody Ohl (Hico, Texas), 11.1 seconds
A: Clint Robinson (Spanish Fork, Utah), 37.1 seconds on three head, $19,597
Barrel Racing
T: Kelly Maben (Spur, Texas), 17.34 seconds
A: Maben, 52.38 seconds on three runs, $15,054
Bull Riding
T: Dustin Elliott (North Platte, Neb.), 91 points
A: Elliott, 256 points on two head, $19,962
Steer Roping
A: Neal Wood (Guy, Texas), 53.8 points on three head, $10,773
posted by Lincoln Rogers @ 6:14 PM
3 comments
The American West holds a fascination for me. I am drawn to it's rugged spirit, spectacular beauty, and fierce independence found in those people not living in urban/suburban areas. That spirit and independence permeated me shortly after arriving in the mid-80's, or maybe I should say it tapped into what was already latent.