“ROUGH RIDE busts right out of the chute and it twists and bucks until the last page. It’s a fun inside-view primer that serves as a “behind-the-chutes” tour of the largest outdoor rodeo in America.” — C.J. Box, #1 New York Times best-selling author of SHADOWS REEL

Darcy Moreland is thrilled to be back in her old home town of Cheyenne, Wyoming and working as a reporter for the local TV station, KCWY. As a bonus, Zach Horton, an old college friend, is station manager and now her boss. On her first assignment covering the carnival midway of Cheyenne Rodeo Days, a body drops from the top of the Ferris wheel inches from her videographer who was lying on the asphalt to get a special shot. Darcy knew the girl and her family which only galvanizes her determination to find the cause of Bridget’s death. Her investigation hits a snag in the form of CPD Detective Hank Nelson, who warns her to stay out of the investigation. Darcy decides Hank is attractive but annoying. She ignores his warnings. Another body drops. Chaos ensues. So far it has been a rough ride. Can Darcy solve both murders by the end of Cheyenne Rodeo Days?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Paulla is a long-time resident of Cheyenne, Wyoming. She lives in a historic downtown area of the city with her husband, Roger Schreiner, a volunteer and past chairman at CFD. She is a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Wyoming Writers. She earned her B.A. from the University of Wyoming in English, Speech and Drama. She has a passion for history, reading, theatre, travel, and obviously writing.

Her book, Rough Ride, is her first published novel. It’s the first in the Darcy Moreland Mystery Series and all take place in Cheyenne, WY. With shows like Yellowstone, 1883, and rising popularity of all things Western, her book fits perfectly into this popular genre and is loosely based off of CFD.

Website: www.paullahunternovels.com
Insta & FB: @paullahunternovels

WHERE TO BUY:
Target
Barnes & Noble
Amazon (Kindle version)

Rough Stock Events – Bareback, Saddle Bronc and Bull Riding:

The field has been narrowed in each of our events, from 72 in bareback and saddle bronc riding to 24 and from 60 in the bull riding down to 30. The top six in each of these events will advance from today directly to Sunday’s Championship Finals.

That’s good for Seth Lee Hardwick, who hopes to be the first contestant that calls Wyoming home to win the bareback riding championship in the last six decades. Seth’s success here came yesterday and while he wasn’t first, he was among the top four to advance to the Semi-Finals. Today, he is getting on Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetic’s horse named South Land’s Mental Illness, a bucker that could easily get him into the 80-point range. There are two former CFD champions competing today, Orin Larsen who got the title here in 2016 and Will Lowe who is a three-time winner (2009, 2012 and 2018). Today could be a turning point for Waylon Bourgeois. The rising star is second in the PRCA Resistol Rookie of the Year standings and 21st in the world.

Saddle bronc riding will see a whole slate of riders trying to get their first Cheyenne buckle. Among them is two-time world champion Zeke Thurston and Wyatt Casper who is currently third in the world standings and will be headed to his third NFR in December. Wyatt won the rodeo yesterday, won first and is hoping to keep his momentum rolling. Zeke is one of four Canadians competing today. The odds are in their favor that at least one of them will advance to Sunday’s Championship Finals. If they do and finish at the top of the board, they would be the first Canadian to win a saddle bronc riding title in Frontier Park in nearly 20 years.

Trevor Reiste comes into today’s bull riding as a favorite, as the only bull rider that won both rounds of his competition. He is hoping to make it three in a row today and be in contention for a CFD buckle. There are three men that have older brothers that have competed here and missed getting a championship. Trey Kimzey’s older brother Sage is a seven-time world champion. Tyler Bingham’s brother Tim as well as Josh Frost’s brother Joe each won college championships and have multiple NFR qualifications to their credit. If any of the younger brothers win, it will be the first for their families.

Timed Events – Steer Wrestling, Team, Tie-Down, Breakaway Roping and Barrel Racing

The top six in each of these events today will advance to Sunday’s Championship Finals.

There’s a big difference between the arena at CFD and the Thomas and Mack where the NFR is held, but eight of today’s tie-down ropers have shown that they are competitive in any situation. Mike Johnson will be a crowd favorite. The 23-time NFR qualifier also won championships here in 1997 and 2003. He is the veteran of the field at 58 years old. Today’s competition could be a game changer for Quade Hiatt. The rising star is the grandson of world champion Butch Myers and Butch’s son Rope is his uncle. If Quade advances and is at the top of the board on Sunday, he would be the first member of his family to win a CFD title. His uncle Cash Myers is among the steer roping qualifiers for Championship Sunday.

There’s a good chance for Wyoming in today’s team roping. Clayton Van Aken, who is a UW graduate will be heading for Jayden Johnson from Casper. Jayden’s cousins and two-time college champions Kellan and Carson Johnson are also roping today. Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill who both have world and CFD titles to their credits had the fastest time yesterday and will hope to build on their success today.

Eli Lord won the steer wrestling here the first time the rodeo featured a tournament-style format in 2019. He is in the mix today and will be competing with NFR qualifier Rowdy Parrott who moved in on Wednesday. Parrott is highest in the world standings at 15. Talon Roseland is 20th and Eli is 24th. Today’s competition could move them up in the world standings. Talon and Eli are looking for their first trip to Las Vegas to compete at the NFR. This would be Rowdy’s third.

The fan favorite breakaway roping features two of the top three women in the WPRA standings. Erin Johnson is highest at number one. Johnson, 42, has been a member of the WPRA since 2007 and has three world titles on her resume. She’s experienced the rapid recent growth of her event and qualified for the first National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR) in 2020 and again in 2021. The ranch-raised mother of two rides a horse her father trained. Martha Angelone is ranked third in the world standings, about $9,000 behind Johnson. The Virginia native knew she needed to move to Texas if she wanted to become a world-class roper and she accomplished that goal. She finished as the reserve world champion in 2020 after winning the average at the inaugural NFBR and finished fifth last season. Emma Charleston won her quarter-final with a time of 3.1 seconds, just one-tenth of a second off the arena record. She’s a two-event cowgirl who is currently ranked 12 in the barrel racing world standings.

Andrea Busby may call Brock, Texas, home now, but her Wyoming roots are as deep as Cheyenne Frontier Days. She grew up near Lusk on a ranch that her family began in 1910. Busby had one of the fastest times of the quarterfinal competition. Two of today’s barrel racers have qualified for the WNFR and are poised to do so again. Cheyenne Wimberly has five NFR qualifications. Her first two came in 1997-1998. She took a break from professional rodeo for two decades, next making the field in Las Vegas in 2019. This season she’s ranked 9th. Jimmie Smith-Tew of McDade, Texas, just got married in May. She is ranked 15th in the standings and every penny she wins here can help her return to the NFR after missing last year. Sarah Rose Waguespack is another former NFR barrel racer. She made a big splash a few years ago as Sarah Rose McDonald riding a roan mare called Bling. She married world champion steer wrestler Tyler Waguespack and is back barrel racing at the highest level on a grandson of Bling.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 23, 2022) – Cheyenne Frontier Days will provide a timely consolation prize for cowboys and cowgirls who fail to advance from the first round of the rodeo’s tournament style competition – a $100 gas credit at Sinclair stations. Funded by the sponsorship of Buckeye Ranch, CFD, Resistol, Sinclair Oil, and Wrangler.

“Professional rodeo cowboys and cowgirls earn their living by traveling along highways and backroads to rodeos in towns all across the country,” said Tom Hirsig, Cheyenne Frontier Days CEO. “The price of gas at the pump is high for all of us. Even more so when you are hauling a horse trailer and driving a big pick up. We are so fortunate these hard-working athletes travel to Cheyenne and we thank them.”

CFD expects 432 competitors will benefit from the gas reward. The program begins with the first performance of the Daddy of ‘em All. July 23 is also recognized as the “National Day of the Cowboy.” Cheyenne is not the first rodeo to offer a gas reward program, but Hirsig indicated the $100 amount is the largest thus far, and the total number of recipients will be the largest in the country.

“Cowboys and Cowgirls are heroes here in Cheyenne. We are excited to give them just a little extra cash for the journey,” Hirsig concluded.

After the pandemic forced its cancellation, CFD worked on lending a hand

As Cheyenne Frontier Days looks ahead to celebrating its 125^th anniversary in July, the organization released its 2020 Report to the Community, which looks back at how CFD’s volunteers and staff turned their focus toward supporting the community after the coronavirus pandemic forced the historic cancellation of the iconic western festival in 2020.

“We were all pretty deflated after the cancellation, but we decided to look at it as an opportunity to use the downtime to do what we could to help our community,” said Tom Hirsig, Cheyenne Frontier Days CEO.

The report recaps how CFD donated its facilities and volunteer manpower to help a variety of community organizations in Wyoming.

“We are grateful for the chance to give something back to the community,” continued Hirsig. “It was important for our staff, volunteers and sponsors that we made good use of our time and facilities during the summer instead of letting them sit idle.”

Applications are now being accepted for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Youth Volunteer Program. Applications will be accepted until March 10, 2020.

Youth Volunteer Application

Completed applications due by March 10:

Cheyenne Frontier Days Headquarters
Youth Volunteer Director | George Geyer
PO Box 2477
Cheyenne, WY 82003

The program is open to youth between the ages of 13 -18.  Applicants must be at least 13 years of age by July 1, 2020.

Volunteers will participate in scheduled Saturday work days and a workshop guided by mentors from each CFD Committee with the intention of finding a committee that best fits the goals of each volunteer once they meet the age requirements of the chosen committee.

Attendance and hours worked will be recorded. A volunteer dress code will require a cowboy hat, a long sleeve shirt, blue denim jeans and boots to be worn.  Those who are selected will receive a picture badge, and a ten day carnival armband will be awarded to youth volunteers who attend three or more scheduled Saturday work days.

The number of youth volunteers may be limited depending on the number of applications received.  An in-person interview will be scheduled for each applicant sometime in April, at a date, time and place to be determined.  More information will be provided to the applicants via email at a later date.

Thank you, for your interest and feel free to contact me at youth.director@cfdrodeo.com  with any questions regarding the program.