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July 18-27, 2025
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Seth Peterson earned two degrees at the University of Wyoming, and has gotten by a pair of steers at Cheyenne Frontier Days advancing to the semifinals. The North Dakota native finished in the top four on July 22 in front of packed house of more than 15,500, loving every minute of it. Peterson is head rodeo coach at Colorado State University, but he is first and foremost a cowboy, especially on a horse called ‘Coors’
A young barrel racer out to run the qualifying round pattern for her first time at Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 19 spent the better part of childhood in the announcer booth with her father, Justin McKee. He and his wife Jeannie were at ‘The Daddy’ to support daughter Kassidy. Justin is now a featured on-air talent for The Cowboy Channel. They’ll bring a crew to Cheyenne for live broadcasts of the afternoon performances starting Saturday. The McKees have a long-standing love affair with Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Cheyenne Frontier Days split 200 breakaway ropers into two groups for their preliminary qualifying round on July 18, and two women who excelled at Central Rocky Mountain Region colleges proved they could compete with anyone. Nebraskan Brandy Schaack split first and second place in Group 2, netting her calf in 3.9 seconds to earn more than $3,700 aboard her beloved ‘JuJu.’ Schaack was an all-around cowgirl for the University of Wyoming and now teaches third graders in Chadron as well as coaching girls at Chadron State. Laramie native Abbea Faris won third-place honors with a time of 4.2 seconds out of Group 1 at Cheyenne on July 18 to pick up a check for $2,300. Faris was on the college rodeo teams in Cheyenne and Casper, during which time her life course was reset.
It was a great day of tie down roping at Cheyenne Frontier Days and in fact it was the best ever. The arena record of 9.9 seconds set in 1997 was matched twice during the first qualifying round July 17. The record was surpassed two times before 205 ropers completed their work. Oklahoma’s Tyler Milligan was fastest of them all stopping the clock at 9.3 seconds to collect a check for more than $5,100.
The Cheyenne Frontier Days Arena Director sat a little taller in the saddle on July 16, watching his son’s qualifying round Team Roping run with partner Brayden Wiesen. Zane Thompson grew up on Frontier Park. His father, Frank, took over Arena Director position from Tom Hirsig around 12 years ago. Hirsig is now Cheyenne Frontier Days President & CEO. Zane & Brayden are both graduates of Burns High School and they finished well within the top 60 advancing to the first Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo performance. Frank Thompson won a World Champion’s Gold Buckle Steer Wrestling in 2000. The entire family is deeply involved at “The Daddy.”
More than 130 cowboys completed both preliminary rounds at Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 15, setting the steer roping field’s top twelve who will return for Championship Sunday. It is fitting a Wyoming family who’s competed at “The Daddy” since 1943 would have a representative at the Cheyenne Legacy Steer Roping Finals. Troy Tillard from Douglas won a CFD Champion Buckle in 2004. Saturday he finished two steers in 31.4 seconds, fourth in the average.
The unofficial start of Cheyenne Frontier Days will kick off July 15 with rodeo qualifiers. The Daddy of ‘em All Rodeo is a modified, tournament-style format. Timed events will have qualifying rounds to make it into the rodeo performances beginning July 22. Rodeo qualifiers are free to the public.
Qualifying Schedule:
On Sunday, July 16 CFD will round up bucking horses from the pasture north of Cheyenne along I-25, and through the city streets into Frontier Park. The roundup begins at approximately 8 a.m. at the intersection of I-25 & Horse Creek Road north of the city. It then moves along I-25 on the Eastern frontage road to Hynds Blvd., turns south to Central Ave., to Kennedy Road, and then moves from Kennedy Road to Hynds Blvd., and into Frontier Park.
Approximate arrival times at the following areas are as follows:
Please note: The Wyoming Highway Patrol will not allow parking along I-25 at any time during the Roundup. Central Ave., between Kennedy Road and Hynds Blvd., will be closed while horses are on Central Ave.
Registration Fee: $50
Entries will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis, and are limited to the first 30 entries.
Open to boys and girls residing in Laramie County only. Participants must be under 13 years of age as of August 1, 2023.
For further information, contact Janet Vossler (307) 421-2840.
Planning for the 2023 Cheyenne Frontier Days is underway, with the concert announcement coming on March 2!
When choosing concerts this year, keep things simple and safe by purchasing your tickets directly from cfdrodeo.com. When it comes to enjoying the star-studded, Cheyenne Frontier Days lineup this year, there’s only one party and it’s NOT third-party! Avoid ticket scalpers on third-party services, by buying from us.
Tickets range from $23-$48 for rodeo, $25-$105 for PBR, and $77-$107 for concerts. If you see higher prices, then it’s not directly from Cheyenne Frontier Days. V.I.P. tickets will range from $100-$300 and will be sold only through the Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Speaking of tickets… here’s an insider tip: Save the date for Zach Bryan, one of the hottest young stars to come around on July 23!
Cheyenne Frontier Days concert tickets will go on sale to the public on March 15.
The Cheyenne Frontier Days Dandies will be conducting a clinic on Sunday, January 29 at 5 p.m. at the Laramie County Community College (LCCC) Arena. It is highly recommended that interested candidates attend the clinic.
Dandies Tryouts will be conducted on Sunday, February 5 at the LCCC Arena. Interviews begin at 3 p.m. and horsemanship evaluations begin at 5 p.m. The horse used at tryouts must be the horse intended for the entirety of the program year.
All applicants must sign waivers and wear helmets if they are under the age of 18. Clinic and tryouts are open to high school women ages 14 to 19. Must be age 14 by June 1, 2023.
Questions can be referred to Halley Redman at email dandies.director@cfdrodeo.com