Sunday, January 11, 2015

National Western Stock Show Parade in Denver



My husband and I met my daughter in Denver, Colorado this past Thursday to have a quick lunch with her, and then we joined a queue along 17th Street to wait for the National Western Stock Show Parade to begin.  This iconic western-style parade takes place in downtown Denver every year and is the official beginning of the stock show, which is taking place this year from January 10th through the 25th, 2015.  The parade begins at Union Station and travels 15 blocks across the city, ending at the Brown Palace Hotel. You can see Union Station in the distance, with Mount Evans looming high above in the distance, from our position near the end of the parade route. (All photos and photo collages in this post will enlarge if clicked on)


As we waited for the parade to begin I had to smile at this eager group of schoolchildren sitting on the curb across the street from us.


Soon, we saw the flashing lights of the parade started coming closer!


This is the 109th year of the National Western Stock Show, Rodeo, and Horse Show. held at Denver's Western Complex.  Last year there was a record-breaking 640,022 people that attended the 16-day event! The National Western Stock Show typically features about 16,000 various livestock and millions to billions worth of deals are made between livestock producers and corporate buyers.


It certainly is a thrill to see a herd of long-horned cattle walking down the street!





The cattle herd was pretty large, but under control by many cowboys and cowgirls on horseback as they moved along.


The Denver Sheriff color-guard. 


Denver Sheriffs on horseback.


Burlington Cougars HS band 



Basketball legend, and former Nugget, Chauncey Billups, who graduated from the University of Colorado, served as the parade's Grand Marshall.


Denver businessman and philanthropist, Philip K Anschutz, (seen in the brown hat) was named "Ambassador of the West."  He has contributed much to the city of Denver, and this was a fitting honor for him.


I loved seeing all the stagecoaches and Western Wagons in the parade, many pulled by magnificent draft horses. Notice the horses' blue hooves in the center photo in the collage! 


 There were many varied things to see as the parade passed by., including clowns and the Colorado State mascot ram...


...and many rodeo groups...


...cowboys...


....and cowgirls...


The state flag of Colorado can be seen in the middle of the three flags held by these pretty ladies.


Equestrian schools were represented...


...as well as more rodeo stars...




"Pikes Peak or Bust" --  this was the motto of many a gold rush era miner. Glad this rodeo group is keeping it alive!


There were many tractors in the parade...from modern to vintage!


The Grizzly Rose featured the band Buckstein, and they sang a few of their popular country western songs as their float traveled the parade route.


At the end of the parade the Denver street sweepers performed a much-needed job of cleaning the street, and as you can see the city traffic soon resumed their use of the street.


As we were leaving we saw that in front of the Wells Fargo Centerthere was a Texas long-horned steer on display, and brave parade-goers could sit on its back for a photo opportunity.  Neither my husband nor I were brave enough to do that, but many others did!  Just look at the Longhorns on this steer!


We also peeked into the Brown Palace Hotel lobby, as we heard that it is a tradition that a prize-winning steer would be on display in the hotel lobby during the stock show dates. but he wasn't in place as yet.  It was nice to see that some of the holiday decorations were still on display in the hotel's opulent lobby. I celebrated a very special birthday in this hotel a couple years ago--click here to read that post and see the formal tea we enjoyed.  Built in 1892, it is one of the oldest hotels in Colorado.


I hope you enjoyed seeing the parade through my camera lens!  It really is such a fun Denver tradition and part of its Western history. We already bought our tickets for one of the stock show rodeos----as they say out here in Colorado---Yee Haw!!


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53 comments:

podso said...

How neat to have a parade begin the stock show. And it looks like a beautiful one with wonderful rich color and gorgeous horses! Thanks for all the photos! And have a great week ahead.

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a great parade. Love seeing all the horses and livestock and all those kids in cowboy hats! Fabulous...

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I haven't been to a good stock show and parade since Houston. Your pictures take me back to some great memories of cowboys and cattle.
Sam

eileeninmd said...

Hello Pat, what a neat parade and a fun time for all.. I love those long horn cattle and all the pretty horses.. Wonderful collection of photos and mosaics!

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

I would have loved to be there. We get a thrill here if there are 1 or 2 horses in a parade! :)

The Gathering Place said...

Growing up in the west, and yet I have never been to a parade with cattle. We only get the horses, tractors, and bands, with some floats thrown in for good measure. I hope the cattle stay in line! Love all the little kids in the cowboy hats.

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

What an awesome parade Pat. I'm glad you took a lot of photos to share, can't help but love the painted hooves on the horses. And cowgirls!
Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.

Mersad said...

You really captured the spirit of the parade well. We don't have them here, but I love looking at events like these.

Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography

Jeanne said...

Awesome!!! what a great parade to see. Observation...Where fun is happening you will find my friend Pat and usually her hubby and family. GREAT BIG SMILES HERE. LOVE your photos and those long horns are amazing.

XO, Jeanne

Pamela Gordon said...

That is quite the parade! So fun to see the long horns walking down a city street as well as all the horses. Thanks for sharing them. I hope you have a great week.

La Petite Gallery said...

That must have been such fun for the kids. I love Parades. No way you would get me on top of a Texas Long horn.
Thanks for the great photo's. yvonne

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Oh I would have been so excited to see those Long Horns, how grand they are and one day, I shall see one and take pics...not that I have not already tried...long story...huge sigh! Compared to the little Oldham County Day parade here, the one you shared is wonderful! I do hope that your husband will soon get some relief from his PT, but it will take time and he will have to endure~

Michelle said...

That looks like so much fun! My family would have loved this. I might have even sat on that Long Horn's back :)

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

That is quite a parade. I would love to see the longhorns herded live down the street as well as everything else. Thanks to you I got to see it.

Lorrie said...

The longhorns are aptly named. I'm glad they were under control - those horns could do some damage. What a fun parade to watch. So many beautiful horses!

Rajesh said...

Wonderful images from the parade. It is interesting to see how the herd of cattle is managed.

The Quintessential Magpie said...

I loved seeing this, Pat, and especially those little cutie pies in their cowboy hats! :-)

Would you believe that I rode in a horse parade several times? I did. I rode Western though my preference is English. Just loved seeing all of this and the long horned cattle!

You are having such fun in Colorado, and I love that for you!

xo

Sheila :-)

The Furry Gnome said...

Wow, quite a parade! I've never been to a western parade. Love the longhorns!

ann said...

While Stock Show has been around for so many decades, the parade is relatively new so I have never been to the parade. There was a time in my life that a year never passed without a trip the the Stock Show. I always enjoy watching the livestock auction on Channel 9. It is very exciting to watch the bidding. Great photos of the parade. Will take in the Stock Show and rodeo? I hope so.

Jane Strong said...

Pretty cool. The West the way it was. This is all so wonderful! I'd forgotten how much I loved rodeo. There hasn't been one around here (LA) for years. Pretty daring of them to have the longhorns. To me the most amusing part was the line of street sweepers at the end as part of the parade. So much fun!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is a big parade! I loved the cattle most:) Thanks for sharing, Pat!

Jojo said...

What a fun parade! Quite different than the typical parade and I loved seeing all the young children lined up on the curb with their cowboy hats on. Loved all the cattle!

Cranberry Morning said...

How exciting it would be to attend that parade and see that livestock in person! Tractors are nice, but those gorgeous critters with the amazing horns are spectacular. Thankyou for sharing these photos!

Linda Kay said...

Love, love love parades, so thanks for sharing your pictures. Wow, those long horns!

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

That was quite a parade!
Thank you for sharing, Pat!
Have a nice new week!

Judy said...

That's amazing! Now that is one parade my hubby would love to see! Thanks for 'taking us along'.

Maria's Space said...

These are great shots. I smiled through your whole post! Nice job

Barbara said...

WONDERFUL post, Pat! I think you captured the event very well (except for maybe the smell?) ha-ha! I agree with you, the sight of those long-horns coming down the city streets as a crowd was awesome! You had a perfect vantage point for all of your pictures!

Shirley said...

Wow, that must be something to see!!

SmilingSally said...

Hi Pat,

I'd never have noticed those blue hooves had you not pointed them out!

I do love a parade. It doesn't appear too cold.

Happy Blue Monday!

sunshine said...

An impressive show and wonderful photos.

Fun60 said...

Loved so many of those photos from the kids in their cute hats to the cattle being herded down the street. That is a parade well worth waiting for.

Maude Lynn said...

What a cool thing to see! Your photos are fantastic.

Photo Cache said...

oh what fun that must have been.

Worth a Thousand Words

Bethany Carson said...

That is a very impressive parade! The longhorns have quite the horns.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What a wonderful parade to go to and see up close. Love the cowgirl outfits! Happy Monday! Hugs!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing parade! Love the little cowboys and girls...

Ann said...

Oh the longhorns stole the show!!! I so enjoyed seeing all the little cowboys and girls sitting on the curb. What a fun parade and day.
Ann

Donna said...

Wow what an unusual parade...something I wouldn't see here...lots of gorgeous horses.

Louisette said...

Wonderfull series pictures of this parade show, greeting from Belgium
http://louisette.eklablog.com/mes-autres-blogs-p842116

Annesphamily said...

Hi Pat! My hubby works on 17th Street between Welton and Glenarm! The downtown parades are always lots of fun! Chauncey Billups grew up in the Park Hill area of Denver. He has always been well loved. He enjoyed a great basketball career. Always nice to see you here. Enjoy the week and I am happy you are feeling so wonderfully! Blessings, Anne

Su-sieee! Mac said...

Cool parade! Ours, which is much smaller, is in June. I like seeing the steers in your parade. They're quite handsome.

Cathy said...

What a grand parade. I love all the horse back riders decked out in all their finery and the herd of cattle moving through town is awesome.

Gracie said...

I'd like to live in the country just to have a dog....nd a horse! Thanks for sharing this.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Wow, you're certainly not in Brooklyn anymore. What a fabulous spectacle, especially those long-horns. You make the most of what's available where you live, that's for sure Pat.

Sheila said...

Hello Pat, I am amazed that the herd of long horn cattle would parade down the street. they look very well behaved! i think I'd rather watch that parade from a window up above... All the best for the coming year!

Unknown said...

Awesome photos of the longhorns and the horses.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

A brilliant post showing us lots of critters and wonderful colours. Those horns on the cattle are huge and could do a lot of damage. Have a good week.

Lovable Derek said...

It does all look very grand. Thanks for sharing it with us.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Pat, this is a cool parade. Great shots of the critters.. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post! Have a happy day!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Pat, this is a cool parade. Great shots of the critters.. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post! Have a happy day!

Jeanne said...

Hello Pat, Thank you for your kind comment on my Pink Saturday post. I am very happy with my decision to go gray. Actually. I am more pleased even now. It is a relief.

I enjoyed viewing all of your photos again. When we lived in Kissimmee, FL there is a rodeo called the Silver Spurs. A huge annual event that we enjoyed. This brought back great memories of the fun we always had at the rodeo.

Hugs, Jeanne

Barb said...

Hi Pat, I enjoyed seeing the parade through your lens. I think you were standing near the Oxford Hotel, which is where we stayed on this last trip to Denver.