THE FIRST 25 YEARS - National Western Stock Show and …results.nationalwestern.com/history/files/first-25-years.pdf · stars began to glimmer the big-top glowed with golden arc

2 0 0 3 N AT IO N A L W E S T E R N S TO C K S HO W • 1

By Keith and Cheryl Chamberlain

Editors Note: As the National Western Stock Show, Rodeo andHorse Show approaches its 100th birthday, we offer this first ina series of four articles recalling the colorful history of the show.

T he year was 1906. Theodore Roosevelt was in the WhiteHouse, there were 45 states in the Union, Colorado was

getting ready to celebrate its thirtieth birthday and sirloin wasten cents a pound. On the outskirts of Denver, a growing townwith a population of 200,000, stockmen from around the West

gathered to show their animals, buy and sell breeding stockand encourage a meatpacking center to rival those in KansasCity and Chicago. From this beginning, the National WesternStock Show, Rodeo and Horse Show was born. The grand cham-pion steer that first year was a Shorthorn that tipped thescales at 1,150 pounds and befitting its status, fetched aneye-popping 33 cents a pound.

The West Needs A Stock ShowIn the early years of the 20th century, western stock grow-

ers faced a problem. They lacked a large market center in the

T H E F I R S T 2 5 Y E A R S

A circus big-top is home to the 1906 and 1907 stock shows.

West to receive their animals and the cost of shipping to east-ern markets cut into already lean profits. Though there was asmall meat packing industry in Denver, it was a poor cousin toits larger rivals in Chicago and Kansas City. There was also thefeeling among western stockmen that they weren’t getting fairprices for their cattle, sheep and hogs. Livestock raising in theWest was a tougher proposition than in the more humid Eastwhere concentrated corn and grain feeds were used to fattenlivestock. The solution would be improved breeds that couldthrive in this more arid region and a meat packing center inthe West to compete with the big eastern packers.

Beginning in the 1890s, there had been efforts to get a reg-ular livestock convention established in Denver, but what wasneeded was an ongoing stock show that met every year. In Julyof 1905, Elias Ammons, Fred Johnson and G.W. Ballantine metto talk over ideas for an annual stock show. Ammons was aDouglas Countyrancher, ColoradoState Senator, andnewly elected presi-dent of the Col-orado Cattle andHorse Growers Asso-ciation. Johnsonwas the presidentof the Daily RecordStockman, a live-stock industrynewspaper, and G.W. Ballantine wasassociated with theDenver UnionStockyards.Ammons proposedthat they organizea show to be heldin conjunction with his association’s convention in Denvercoming up in January, 1906. January was a practical choicebecause, coming after the fall harvest and before spring calv-ing, it was a convenient time for stock growers. Denver busi-nessmen liked the idea of a January show because the post-Christmas period was the slowest time of the year for sales.What better fix for the mid-winter doldrums than a conventionthat would draw large numbers of visitors and get Denveritesout of their homes to see the stock show.

When the stockmen’s convention and the stock show wereset to open in January 1906, an editorial in the Rocky Moun-tain News declared that "No convention to be held here thisyear will exceed in importance the gathering of this week. Itshould not be necessary for stock raisers to send their cattle,sheep and hogs to the Missouri River and Chicago in order tofind a favorable market. This city will not be satisfied until it isthe livestock center of the West and all the related industriesare firmly established here."

The National Western Comes To TownOn opening day of the "Western Livestock Show", Monday,

January 29, 1906, Denver basked under clear skies and enjoyeda balmy afternoon temperature of 63 degrees. Northeast ofdowntown at the Denver Union Stockyards, a circus big-tophad been erected and the city was abuzz with excitement. TheRocky Mountain News reported that throngs of stockmen werefilling local hotels. City leaders urged Denverites to attend theshow and lend their support for what was hoped would becomean annual affair. To encourage them, "Denver Day at the StockShow" was declared for Wednesday the 31st. The Rocky Moun-tain News reported that "The city has declared a holiday, banksand other private enterprises will close their doors and theschools will not be in session." The paper urged citizens toattend and attend they did- by the thousands. There was a bitof rain that day, but admission was free and Denver’s citizens

swarmed over theshow grounds,tramping throughthe mud, millingabout the stock-yard pens, gawkingat blueblooded cat-tle, sheep and hogsand filling the bigtent to watch thejudging.

What theyfound at the showwere the best cat-tle the West had tooffer. There werefour breeds pre-sent: Herefords,Aberdeen-Angus,Shorthorns and Gal-

loways. Livestock for the first show totaled 336 entries. Thetwo horse breeds came from the ends of the spectrum: drafthorses and ponies. The Colorado Agricultural College in FortCollins (now Colorado State University) sent a trainload of 600students, who brought their own livestock and pretty muchcleaned up in the judging, leading to a rule disqualifying theschool from competing in subsequent shows.

When the six-day show closed on February 3, and things inDenver returned to normal, there was little doubt as to thesuccess of the event. The first show was reported to be a realeye-opener for eastern meat packers, putting them and the restof the nation on notice that Denver’s goal of making itself amajor livestock market and agricultural center was serious.Plans were immediately underway for a repeat the next year.

In 1907, work crews had no sooner finished erecting the mon-ster tent than a Front Range gale flattened it. The crews wentback to work the next morning, repairing huge rips and pitchingthe tent again in time for the show’s opening. When the second


An eager crowd surrounds the new National Amphitheater in 1909.

2 • 2 0 0 3 N AT IO N A L W E S T E R N S TO C K S HO W



show opened on Janu-ary 21, it was the"Western NationalStock Show," a namethat would be usedagain in 1908 andthen altered to thecurrent "National West-ern Stock Show" in1909. It was an evenbigger and more fes-tive event than thefirst. An admission of25 cents was chargedand folks streamed inby streetcar, horse-drawn rigs and even afew automobiles. Thelatter drew many ahorse laugh as theypassed by the stables.

The pens of theDenver Union Stock-yards were crammedwith cattle and the bustling show grounds might have remind-ed us of the modern terminal at DIA. The big-top was in useagain but was now joined by a host of other tents. Exhibits offarm and ranch machinery filled five large ones. Among the lat-est equipment on display was a "traction engine," a harbingerof things to come. In smaller tents, stock show guests couldfind hot Coney Island chowder and roasted peanuts. A largewooden barn had been added for the comfort of the equinecontestants.

As the centerpiece on the show grounds, the big-top, awashwith color and commotion, presented quite a spectacle. TheRocky Mountain News boasted that the big show tent was "dec-orated more lavishly, mayhap, than were the arenas of ancientRome." There had been no arrangement for heating it at the1906 show, but to ward off January’s chill in 1907, "big cokebraziers, each holding 200 pounds of good, enlivening heat,kept the visitors in the big tent warm and comfortable."

Entering the tent, visitors found green tanbark spread onthe floor, lending a grassy outdoor atmosphere that was com-plemented by the aroma of hay, bedding and livestock feed.Brightly colored flags and buntings draped the stands, and thesounds of cattle and horses filled the tent as darkness fell andstars began to glimmer the big-top glowed with golden arclights. The deep voiced announcer boomed judging resultsthrough a megaphone and a brass band struck up the tune"There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight." As the thun-der of drumming hooves and the jingle of harness trappingsannounced the first class of horses entering the arena, thecrowd rose to its feet in a roar of approval.

Attendance at those first shows pleased the organizers, ful-

filling their predictions about the popularity and usefulness ofsuch a show but also sending them scrambling for a solution tothe crowding problem. For the 1908 show they built a woodenstadium topped with the canvas roof of the huge tent that hadhoused the show in its first two years, but this was to be onlya temporary solution. That summer ground was broken for theconstruction of a large, permanent stadium and it was ready forthe opening of the fourth stock show on January 18, 1909. TheNational Amphitheater, now known as the Stadium Arena, wasbuilt with the latest technology of the times and has faithfullyserved the National Western ever since.

When the big-top was replaced by the National Amphithe-ater none of the festive atmosphere was lost. Inside brick wallsand under a modern glass and steel roof the building was fes-tooned with red and green banners, crescent-shaped Americanflags, and brightened by electric lights. Green tanbark coveredthe floor and the building was still filled with brass music.

The tramway company ran special streetcars every two min-utes to carry visitors from Denver Union Station over rail linesthat passed through the heart of the show grounds. By 1912,to speed access for the growing number of visitors, a speciallysurfaced roadway led from downtown to the show grounds withelectric lights illuminating the way. On arrival motorists foundample parking space for their machines alongside horse drawncarriages. In another sign of advancing technology, guestsfound newly installed telephone booths inside.

Livestock: The Working Heart Of The ShowFollowing the 1906 show, articles of incorporation were

drawn up for the Western Stock Show Association, Elias

Trolley from downtown delivers visitors to 1913 show.



Ammons was elected president and an executive committeewas formed. The show’s organizers succeeded in both theirgoals of improving livestock breeds and fostering the growth ofa livestock market in the region. Within a few years westerncattle breeds had been improved to the point that eastern buy-ers were now in Denver each January to buy the "hardy, dis-ease-proof strains" from the Rocky Mountains to take home forthe improvement of their own herds. In1913, representatives of the Chicagopacking houses arrived by special trainand bidding on carloads of breedingstock brought in $1 million in a singlerecord breaking day for western live-stock. Stockmen received $2.6 millionfor their animals at the show.

The year 1910 was a turning pointfor the show. Until this time onlyentries from the West (defined as thearea west of the 99th Meridian) werepermitted and "feeder cattle" meantgrass-fed cattle, not animals fattenedon grain and corn. But after the 1909show organizers voted that entriesfrom all over the U.S. would hence-forth be accepted and the stock showbecame a truly national event.

In 1914, with Elias Ammons (nowGovernor of Colorado) serving as auc-tioneer for one of the sales, the cattlegrossed $6 million. At the sale theHermosa Ranch of Colorado Springssold ten head of yearling and two-year-old Hereford bulls at an averageof $648 a head, a record price any-where for a group of such size. Lambsbrought about 10 cents a pound. TheRocky Mountain News boasted that these top prices were "proofof the superiority of the meat producing ranches and farms inthis state."

The National Western suffered its first major setback whenthe 1915 cattle show was canceled due to an outbreak of footand mouth disease. A gathering of animals from around theregion seemed hardly the prudent thing in the face of the con-tagion. The horse show and poultry exhibitions went ahead asplanned, but overall turnout was scant in comparison withprior years.

By 1929 almost three and a half million head of cattle,sheep and hogs, with a total value of sixty-five million dollars,were received annually at Denver’s expanding stockyards andpacking houses, showing conclusively that the organizers ofthe National Western had realized their goal of making Denvera major livestock market center. At that year’s show the DenverPost reported keen interest in cattle judging among thecrowds. In addition to prize cattle, visitors could look over

herds of Poland-China and Duroc-Jersey hogs, 300 "splendidspecimens" in the rabbit show, and more than 1,500 featheredhopefuls in the poultry show with colorful chicken breeds likeGolden Orpingtons, White Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds andBlack Jerseys. Homing pigeons also put in an appearance. Onepair, valued at $1,000, were directly descended from birds thathad carried messages in World War I, and a racing pigeon flew

from Trinidad to Denver in 5 hours and48 minutes on the eve of the show, afeat to be envied by today’s rush hourmotorist creeping through ColoradoSprings and the southern Denver sub-urbs on I-25.

In keeping with the goal ofimproving ranching and farming in theWest, shows in the 1920s featuredexhibits by Wyoming, New Mexico andColorado universities on diversifiedfarming, farm record keeping, modelpoultry houses, new seed varieties andimproved dairy breeds. By this time,packers and consumers were demand-ing beef with lower fat content, andas a result of selective breeding theywere getting it. They could preparethat leaner beef in a kitchen remod-eled along the lines of a model farmkitchen exhibited at the show.

Livestock prices through the firstquarter century of the stock show fol-lowed a generally upward trend. TheWorld War I years of 1915 through1918 saw a spike in prices paid at theNational Western for champion andfeeder livestock. Colorado cattlemendonated heifer calves for a special sale

at the 1919 "Victory Stock Show" and raised over $43,000 forthe Red Cross. Higher prices were to be a short-lived boon toAmerican stockgrowers, however. When the guns in Europe fellsilent and producers on the Continent got their feet back underthem, prices for beef and other agricultural commodities tum-bled in the States. They would not regain the levels of 1920until the eve of the Depression. In 1930, the grand championsteer, an Angus this time, sold for $1.60 a pound and champi-on carload feeder steers, Herefords again, brought 18 cents apound.

Colorado-raised steers ruled the feeder champion classes tothe near exclusion of other states throughout the period.While Herefords tended to dominate into the mid-1920s, Angussteers won grand champion honors in four of the last five yearsof the decade. It was a short-lived dominance, however. Thefamiliar red and white Hereford would virtually rule the classfor four decades beginning in 1930. Purebred Herefords, Angus,and Shorthorns were the backbone of the industry in those

East meets West in this fanciful program coverfrom the 1920 Horse Show.



years. The hybrid cattle breeds so important in the latter 20thCentury were as yet unrepresented at the early shows.

Horses And High SocietyFolks at the turn of the 20th Century loved horses as much

as we do at the turn of the 21st, and in 1907 an enduring andpopular feature was added to the January show. The DenverGentlemen’s Driving and Riding Club sponsored the NationalWestern’s first horse show that year. Its evening performancesfilled the big tent and later the National Amphitheater. Cattlejudging took place during the day and a parade of prize-win-ning stock opened the evening horseshows. Seats for the horse shows wentfor 25 cents and a private eight-seatbox could be had for $25 for the entireweek.

The horse shows were an instant hitwith the public. They filled theamphitheater to bursting and on onenotorious evening in 1909 the showwas oversold. The crowd was so tightlypacked that some who fainted from theheat were carried along in the humantide. The following day the DenverRepublican observed "The show manage-ment would like to convey to the publicthe suggestion there probably will notbe such intolerable congestion tonight.Those who were there last night wouldlike to convey to management the sug-gestion that greater congestion is notwithin the bounds of possibility."

For high steppers in Denver society,attendance on Society Night at theHorse Show became a must. Attendeeswere a who’s who of the Mile High Cityand "Everyone that’s anyone in Denver-town" was there, leading to headlineslike "Society in a Gay Whirl This Weekfor the Horse Show."

The coverage of Society Night by the local papers was as lav-ish as the high fashion worn by the women in attendance. Thisfrom the Rocky Mountain News on January 22, 1913: "It was so-ci-e-tee night and Denver’s most exclusive matrons bowed inhomage to blooded quadrupedal rule. The boxes presented anarray of bright colors, gay costumes, and waving plumage. Silkhats were in such an abundance that you might easily haveimagined you were attending a queen’s reception at the gardensof a royal palace. The Queen of Sheba herself would have lookedlike a last-year’s fashion plate had she been among those pre-sent." The buntinged boxes holding Denver’s upper crust were"almost dazzling with their gleam of white arms and necks,sparkle of jewels and rainbow hues." Women turned out in lushgowns of satin, velvet, chiffon and lace, in colors from yellow,

gold, forest green and marine blue to the ever-sophisticatedblack. They accessorized with furs and ermine scarves, ropes ofpearls, orchid corsages and fabulous plumed hats festoonedwith breasts of swan and silver ornaments.

Newspaper descriptions of the fashions worn to the horseshows by Denver’s first ladies through these first 25 years is achronicle of changing tastes. By the end of the Roaring Twen-ties, women’s attire ran to sleek, low-cut gowns, often wornwithout hats, while gentlemen turned out in tuxedos and silkhats. One thing that didn’t change, however, was high society’slove of the National Western. In 1929 the Denver Post declared

that Denver socialites supported theshow "with all the enthusiasm thatmarks the opening of the metropolitanopera season in New York."

And then there was Loula Long.This champion horsewoman, daughterof a Kansas City lumber magnate, daz-zled audiences and judges at NationalWestern horse shows. She declared afondness for Denver audiences andthey loved her back. Her entrance intothe arena on one January eveningbrought the audience to its feet with achorus of cheers and applause thatlasted five minutes. Each subsequententrance, and there were many, wasgreeted with another outburst. It’s nowonder she appreciated her receptionin the Mile High City. And well mightthe crowds have cheered her. On theevening in question she captured blueribbons in four of the five classes sheentered. By show’s end, her stalls weredecorated with 13 blue ribbons.

For a short time there was a keenrivalry between Loula Long and Adol-phus Busch III. She won 17 first placeribbons at the 1912 show, while theSt. Louis brewing heir managed only

three. Busch did not return for the show the next year, havingsold his horses and retired from competition.

Miss Long traveled in style. After the two-day journey fromKansas City by private rail car, she took up residence in a suiteof apartments at the Brown Palace Hotel and granted audienceto admiring reporters attired in a "most charming red Japanesekimono" with her golden tresses falling in "two long plaitsfrom beneath a becoming boudoir cap." For the show, shebrought along 15 horses, two Boston terriers and a French bull-dog, a spectacular wardrobe that kept typewriters at the localdailies clacking throughout the week and hats beyond count-ing. She delighted her female fans by appearing in a differenthat for every event.

The newspaper descriptions of Denver’s society matrons,

The 1929 Horse Show program cover captures the allure of the horse shows.


glowing as they were, couldn’t hold a candle to the florid proselavished on Miss Long’s wardrobe. According to the RockyMountain News on January 22, 1913, "She might just as wellhave popped out of the latest Parisian band-box, so chic, sodashing and so piquant was the ‘tout ensemble.’ Her tailoredsuit was of ‘clingy’ white Bengaline silk, cut a la mode, asplash of deep pink sweet peas made a flaming corsage, and herhuge black velvet hat,turned saucily up on oneside, billowed in soft whitefeathers of paradise thatsheltered a shell-pink rose."

Denver crowds believedin audience participation,cheering the judges’ selec-tions when they agreed,hooting and booing whenthey didn’t. A judge whofailed to award Loula Longthe blue ribbon in the four-in-hand class was loudlyhissed by the audience.Guidelines for audience eti-quette, admonishing spec-tators against such dis-plays, became a regularfeature of horse show programs soon after.

But the horse shows provided plenty to watch besides highfashion. Audiences from all walks of society enjoyed seeingskilled horsemen and women put their blooded steeds throughtheir paces in events like fine harness horses driven to four-wheeled vehicles, five-gaited Colorado horses, ladies saddlehorses, high steppers, trotters and roadsters, Shetland harnessponies, gaited saddle stallions and working cow horses.

In addition to the competitive classes, the horse showsalso offered many other entertainments. At one show, thebreathless crowd was treated to a performance by an electric-lighted, horse-drawn rig. In the darkened arena the horse,vehicle and driver were gradually lit up in an outline of red,white and blue incandescent globes. Then the 40-piece bandof the 9th U.S. Cavalry played "Yankee Doodle" while thelighted rig circled the arena. Horsemen of the 9th Cavalry, aunit of African-American soldiers, also performed riding exhi-bitions to awe the crowd. The Denver Republican, describingthe performance, said "Two troopers ride abreast, and whentheir mounts reach a two-foot hurdle, one soldier leaps to theground and then vaults back onto his horse. They ride bare-back and adapt the trick to turning clear round, and finallyjumping to a standing posture on their horses’ backs. Theyalso introduce the regulation army pyramid, where 10 troopersride on each others shoulders on four horses." That sameevening, Lieutenant Nicholson of the 9th Cavalry thrilled thecrowd with a record high jump on his horse McCaskey. On histhird attempt, he tossed his hat into the crowd, spurred his

jumper to full speed and sailed over the five-foot three-inchbarrier to set an arena record.

Polo matches were regular features in these early years ofthe horse show, with periods played between judged classes.One year it was the Reds and Whites versus the Blues- allDenver society gentlemen, while in another year a team fromthe Denver Country Club squared off against members of the

13th U.S. Cavalry.

Build It AndThey Will Come

Thanks to the populari-ty of the horse shows, theNational Western secured asteady stream of revenue,monies badly needed asthe association struggledto build facilities to keepup with increasing entriesand crowds. When it addedthe rodeo in 1931, thestock show would hit upona combination of events toguarantee large crowds andgate receipts through theremainder of the century.

In the early days the stockyards were the heart of the show.Owned by the Denver Union Stock Yard Company, most entrieswere stalled there and it was the location of the carload auc-tions that formed the working core of the show. The stockyardscompany kept the show afloat in the early years with frequenttransfusions of cash for operations and facilities. Organizers ofthe show struggled to increase the size and quality of the facili-ties and with each new addition they learned the truth of themaxim "build it and they will come." Several buildings in addi-tion to the National Amphitheater were constructed on thegrounds of the National Western complex. The first of these wasa wooden cattle barn and a set of stalling sheds, followed soonafter by a 70,000 square foot, two-story brick barn for sheep,hogs and horses. In the summer of 1910 came construction of amassive three-story brick horse and cattle barn and a two-storyClub Building. In spite of all this, the buildings were filled tocapacity nearly every year and the Western Stock Show Associa-tion seemed to be trapped in a never ending battle to expandfacilities that could insure continued growth of the show.

Denver Loves The Show Attendance continued to grow, and and then as now, the

National Western was a boon to the Denver economy. The cityand the state promoted the show, as Denver Day and ColoradoDay became regular features. Businessmen of the city wereenthusiastic boosters from the start and their belief that theshow would bring a burst of business every January was soonborne out. By 1913 it was reported that the six-day show


Pennant for the 1919 "Victory Stock Show" and early prize ribbons.


injected $2 million into the local economy. By the late teensThe Denver Civic and Commercial Association began makingannual cash contributions to the operation of the show.Advertising in the Denver newspapers took on a decidedlywestern flavor during the show with ads sporting cowboy hats,horses, lariats and invitations to visiting stockmen to availthemselves of the goods and services the big city had to offer.The Denver Dry Goods Company in 1930 advertised that "Acomplete and separate storefor Stockmen is located onour sixth floor. You are cor-dially invited to visit it."Denver hotels, businessesand theaters advertised inthe show programs andinvested in the show itself.By the 1920s many horseshow classes boasted$1,000 stakes, the prizemoney being put up by Den-ver businesses.

The stock show hasalways been a favoriteamong Denver school kids.They were admitted free atthe 1912 show and 9,000turned out on a single daythat January. A regular pro-gram of free admission forschool children and toursguided by members of theBoys and Girls Clubs wasinstituted in the early 1920s.The Rocky Mountain Newsprinted a detailed list of live-stock breeds and their char-acteristics for use by schoolkids visiting the show.

If visitors to the showfelt like a bit of refresh-ment, programs throughoutthe 1920s advertised chew-ing gum for 5 cents, rootbeer or Cracker Jack for 10cents and near beer (thesewere the days of Prohibi-tion, remember) for 20cents, a hamburger or frank-furter for 10 cents. Just tokeep vendors honest, the program cautioned patrons to "PayNo More at this Show." During the Roaring Twenties, for abouttwo bucks a guest could gain admission (75 cents), watch live-stock judging, stroll through the livestock and commercialexhibits, have a snack, and settle into a prime seat for the

evening horse show ($1.00 for the first four rows). For an addi-tional 25 cents motoring patrons could "safely leave theirmachines in care of the Denver Omnibus and Cab Company’sattendants at the automobile entrance." Those horses that hadgiven newfangled autos the horse laugh at the 1907 showprobably weren’t laughing as much by the late 1920s.

But locals weren’t the only ones attending. For rural visitorseager to sample the bright lights of the big city, show pro-

grams were filled withenticements. In the earlydays, rooms could be had atthe Oxford Hotel, just oneblock from Union Station,for $1.00 a day. For thosewhose pockets were a bitdeeper, a room with a pri-vate bath was $1.50. In the1917 program, the OrpheumTheatre, a vaudeville venue,featured "Six Water Lilies,Expert swimmers and divers.Six well formed girls." Inthe 1920 program, TheStandard Serum Company ofDenver advertised "MonkeySerum to restore the Powerof Youth. It makes REALMEN and is guaranteed todo what is claimed for it,"though the ad didn’t specifyexactly what that might be.In 1929, show visitors couldhop a streetcar up to northDenver and take in "DonJuan" starring John Barry-more at the Federal Theatre.And if those rough countryroads had taken a toll onthe old flivver, a newChevrolet "Sport Sedan"could be ordered from alocal dealer for $725.

It Wasn’t OnlyLivestock And Horses

The shows during thosefirst 25 years were not justabout cattle, horses, sheep,swine and poultry. City folk

and country folk alike were treated to all manner of diversions.One of the more unusual features of the 1913-16 shows was"The Naked Baby Contest" in which toddlers were judged by thesame rules as the livestock. The crowning point of the 1913contest came when winning baby Ethel was treated to a victory


A Ford Tudor Sedan advertised for $633.25 in the 1930 program.


lap around the arena held aloft by Buffalo Bill Cody who bor-rowed a horse for the occasion.

Jack Dempsey and Jess Willard, wrestling and boxing Shet-land ponies, were featured and the crowd was assured that"these wonderful ponies are the only ones in the world whoperform this act." The Original Teddy Brothers, BurlesqueWrestlers, made an appearance at the 1919 show and in anoth-er wrestling event that year there was a harnessing contestbetween the City Boys and the Country Boys. The former werefrom Denver, the latter from the rural hinterlands of Arvada,Wheatridge, Littleton, Adams City, Brighton and Golden. Theidentity of the team that got its horses harnessed first is lostin the mists of history, leaving future generations to settle thecity-kids-versus-country-kids debate.

Guests attendingthe stock show inthese years were treat-ed to a "Spectacular Oxand Cart" demonstra-tion presented by theAnheuser-Busch Com-pany and crowdsenjoyed precision exhi-bitions by teamstersdriving six-horse andeight-mule hitches.The Denver MountedPolice put on a ridingexhibition featuring"wedges, riot diagonalsand fancy displaymaneuvers." In othershows of the era, spectators could enjoy musical drills by the13th U.S. Cavalry or performances by the George W. Cook Origi-nal Drum Corps.

Other diversions in the years before the rodeos became aregular part of the stock show were the special appearances ofOne Step and Leaping Lena, famed bucking horses. Easier tostraddle may have been the MIDGET HORSE, standing 26 incheshigh and weighing in at a whopping 58 pounds. Those ponder-ing the five cent admission were assured "He knows his tricks."Weighing a bit more was the 83-ton captive whale exhibited atthe 1930 show by the Pacific Whaling Corporation. "Give yoursweetie a WHALE of a thrill" and see the "Largest sea mammalever captured" proclaimed an ad in the program. Bob the "mir-acle sheep dog" performed herding demonstrations and Billy, aprize trick mule, entertained with comedy stunts.

There was plenty of action. A jousting tournament was heldat one show while other evenings featured tug-of-wars betweenthe Denver and Omaha Police Departments. Another crowdpleaser was the girls’ egg and spoon race: "hard boiled eggs tobe carried in long-handled spoons to be held at the end of han-dle and egg to be delivered to judges in good condition. Walkhorse once around ring; trot once around and run home. Riders

losing egg must return to get another and start all over again."The young horsewoman who claimed the $15.00 first prize cer-tainly earned it. One can only wonder how many dozen eggs gottrampled into the arena floor. It was perhaps a convenientthing that there were plenty of laying hens on the premises, thepoultry show being a well-established feature of the Januaryextravaganza by this time. It was a case of rodeo-meets-party-game when it came to the musical chairs contest, where contes-tants had to dismount their steeds when the music stopped andscramble for a seat while holding the reins.

A Quarter Century Of AccomplishmentsWhen the 1930 stock show rolled around the nation had

already started the long downward slide into the Great Depres-sion. As if to under-score the arrival ofhard times, subzeroweather gripped Den-ver throughout showweek. Many ruralpeople stayed home,snowed in. Den-verites stayed homeas well and atten-dance at the showwas far below normal.In spite of economicconditions, the 1930grand champion steerfetched $1.60 apound, a record thatwould stand until

1947. The price for champion carload feeder steers, a moreaccurate indicator of market conditions, had peaked the yearbefore at $26.00 per hundred pounds and the deflationaryslump into Depression era beef prices began at the 1930 show.

When the National Western celebrated its silver anniversary, ithad grown through infancy and adolescence. The annual eventhad made significant contributions to the livestock industry andDenver’s packinghouse row was booming. It had also pumpedmillions of dollars into the economy of Denver. The show waspopular with stock growers, meat packers, horse show enthusi-asts and the public. It had weathered the storms of crowdedfacilities, budget shortfalls, occasional blizzards, foot and mouthdisease, a world war, an agricultural recession and the passing ofmany of its founders. In doing so, it had proven its stayingpower, a commodity that would see it through the lean years tocome. The National Western was here to stay. ■

In its next quarter century, the National Western would add therodeo and the catch-a-calf contest. It would continue to attractever larger numbers of entries and spectators as it grew in pres-tige and importance. In next year’s program we will recall theyears between 1931 and 1956.


Prohibition Era Horse Show program ad from the Coors Company.

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THE FIRST 25 YEARS - National Western Stock Show and …results.nationalwestern.com/history/files/first-25-years.pdf · stars began to glimmer the big-top glowed with golden arc