July 18-27, 2025

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WATCH: Steer Wrestling Quarter Finals

Oklahoma steer wrestler Denard Butler is enjoying his first Cheyenne Frontier Days. He won the Saturday afternoon performance with expert assistance from Cheyenne native Aaron Vosler hazing. Butler, who does some modeling work for Wrangler, had to coax Vosler to help because he was planning to be at another rodeo. It all worked out for both of them.

Rodeo Contestants to Watch

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

The bull riders are the only contestants in the CFD Rodeo Tournament that get two opportunities to ride during the Quarter Finals. Yesterday, seven were successful and six of those are guaranteed to advance to the Semi-Finals. At the top of the list was Jeff Askey, a four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Athens, Texas who scored 87.5 points. Jeff will be working to add to his earnings today as he matches up with Dakota Rodeo’s Little Coat. There are six spots in the Semi-Finals up for grabs today, but if less than six get scores, Cash Toews from Canton, Kansas, will get in by virtue of his seventh place finish yesterday.

Orin Larsen is looking for his second CFD championship in the bareback riding. He is currently 13th in the world standings and any money won here will help him qualify for his 8th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas next December where world champions are crowned.  Orin won two championships at the College National Finals Rodeo before embarking on his professional career. His first trip to the NFR was in 2015 and if he makes it this year, it will be his ninth consecutive. Bareback riding is the most physically demanding event in rodeo so for him to compete at rodeo’s championships consistently is a huge accomplishment.

Caleb Bennett knows a thing or two about those injuries. He has chronic wrist and elbow issues that bareback riding aggravates. The ulna bone in both of his arms is longer than normal and doctors told him they could shorten those and fix his problems. But he’d have to give up riding bucking horses, so he chose the horses. He is ninth in the world standings has qualified for the NFR nine times (not consecutive like Orin) and is hoping to make that 10 this year.

Leon Fountain and Ross Griffin are hoping to represent their home state of New Mexico well here today in saddle bronc riding. Both are in the top 30 in the PRCA world standings, looking for their first CFD title and their first trip to the NFR. Chuck Schmidt, Allen Boore and Mitch Pollock have all made that trip and are hoping to be back among the PRCA’s top 15 that qualify again. Pollock grew up in Nevada and played baseball in college until he started hanging out with the rodeo team. Kade Bruno is the saddle bronc rider that is highest in the world standings in today’s field. Prior to Cheyenne’s rodeo, he was eighth

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

Every person in the timed events had to compete to get to the Quarter Finals here. Just qualifying is an accomplishment. Among those that qualified are husband and wife, Ryan and Shy-Anne Jarrett. Ryan, the 2005 world champion all-around cowboy, will compete in the tie-down roping. Shy-Anne has qualified in the barrel racing. Ryan grew up on a dairy farm in Georgia and just wanted to be a cowboy.

He has 14 NFR qualifications to his credit, most in the tie-down roping. He also has been there in the steer wrestling and it was those two events that garnered is all-around buckle. Now he focuses on the tie-down roping and occasionally competes in team roping. He and Shy-Anne have a daughter Jurnee. Shy-Anne is often at home in Oklahoma carrying for their livestock while Ryan is off making money. If Shy-Anne does well here, they could be making a new game plan.

Women’s breakaway roping was added here as a non-sanctioned event in 2019 and the reserve champion was a young woman barely out of high school, Chloe Frey. She is back as a member of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and hoping to leave this year with the breakaway roping championship. Chloe will also be paying attention in the steer wrestling as her first-cousin Shane Frey is among the qualifiers.

Wyoming cowgirl Peggy Garman set the arena record in the breakaway roping during the wildcard round of qualification. Her 3.0-second run was her last-ditch effort to compete in front of the fans. She already has her sights set on Sundays Championship Finals, and after her success in getting here, has the confidence to back it up. Today will see if everything falls in place for her to stay on that path.

Coleman Proctor is a favorite for this year’s all-around championship in Frontier Park. He competed in the steer roping, placed in both rounds, and has qualified for the championships in that event. He already has earned $12,719 here in steer roping and team roping. He will be heading for Logan Medlin today. A fan favorite cowboy, Derrick Begay will be heading for Colter Todd who was the heading champion here in 2006 when he roped with Cesar de la Cruz. Derrick and Colter didn’t have much luck in the qualifier and finished 12th in the Wildcard, so they were the final team to get into the performances. Because everyone starts with a clean slate and the top four advance from each performance, where they started is not nearly as important as where they finish.

Hooper & Thurston advance to Semifinals

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (June 23, 2022) – The action at the 126th Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) was fierce from the first crack of the chute gates at Saturday’s opening performance. A roaring crowd cheered as Tilden Hooper won the bareback riding Quarter Finals with a score of 88 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s bucking horse Knight Mare. The Texas cowboy finished as CFD reserve champion last year and took the next step in his quest to earn his first title at Frontier Park.
The eight-time National Finals Rodeo (NFR) bareback rider is currently ranked 17th. He needs to be among the top 15 at the end of the season to make a 9th trip to Las Vegas. Hooper will advance to the Semifinals next weekend along with two-time CFD and three-time world champion Tim O’Connell, newly crowned college champion Ty Pope and rookie leader Rocker Steiner.
Two-time world champion saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston of Big Valley, Alberta, Canada, is another veteran cowboy looking for his first CFD championship. Like Hooper, his quest is off to a good start after Thurston won Saturday’s Quarter Finals. He scored 87 points on Andrews Rodeo’s horse Cracker Jack to win the day by 3.5 points.
Oklahoma cowgirl Leslie Smalygo is having her best season in pro rodeo this year. She is ranked 15th in the world standings and seeking her first trip to the NFR in barrel racing. Riding her 12-year-old sorrel horse named Justaheartbeattafame that she calls Gus, she bested 11 other women with a time of 17.38 seconds. That guaranteed her a spot in the Semifinals.
Smalygo won nearly $14,000 over the July 4 “Cowboy Christmas” run of rodeos. Her success this season has her friends telling her she’s “on fire.” That prompted the barrel racer to dye her hair the colors of fire – mixing pink, orange and red with her blonde locks.
Bull riders at the “Daddy of ‘em All” compete on consecutive days and have two opportunities to advance to the Semifinals. The same 18 bull riders will return to compete tomorrow.
The second Quarter Finals begins at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, July 24.
CHEYENNE, Wyo (July 23, 2022)- The following are unofficial results from Quarter Finals 1 at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on Saturday, July 23. Payoff subject to change.
Bareback Riding: 1, Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, 88 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Knight Mare, $2,447. 2, Ty Pope, Marshall, Mo., 86, $1,835. 3, (tie) Tim O’ Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, and Rocker Steiner, Weatherford, Texas, 84.5, $917 each.
Breakaway Roping: 1, Angie Green, Huntsville, Texas, 3.9 seconds, $2,951. 2. Rheagan Cotton, Fairfield, Texas, 4.3, $2,213. 3, (tie) Sierra Galusha, Warrensburg, N.Y., and Alli Masters, Leon, Iowa, 4.8, $1,106 each.
Tie Down Roping: Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 12.9 seconds, $2,000. 2, Kase Bacque, Huntsville, Texas, 13.3, $1,500. 3, Kalai Nobriga, Kealakekua, Hawaii, 13.6, $1,000. 4, Jade Lyon, Meadow, S.D., 13.7, $500.
Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: Results Pending
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 87 points on Andrew Rodeo’s Cracker Jack, $2,345. 2, (tie) Tanner Butner, Daniel, Wyo., and Q Taylor, Casper, Wyo., 83.5, $1,47 each. 4, Kolby Wanchuck, Sherwood Park, Alberta, 82.5, $294.
Team Roping: 1, Rio Nutter, Rapid City, S.D., and Daine A McNenny, Hereford, S.D., 10.4 seconds, $2,000 each. 2, Jon Peterson, and Levi O’ Keeffe, Belle Fourche, S.D., 10.7, $1,500 each. 3, Britt Williams, Hammond, Mont., and Cayden Cox, Arroyo, Ariz., 11.6, $1,000 each. 4, Brayden Parker and Dustin Searcy, Scottsdale, Ariz., 13.0, $500 each.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Denard Butler, Checotah, Okla., 6.5, $2,000. 2, Walt Arnold, Coleman, Texas, 6.7, $1,500. 3, Colten Leech, 6.8, $1,000. 4, Emmett Edler, State Center, Iowa, 7.0, $500.
Barrel Racing: 1, Leslie Smalygo, Skiatook, Okla., 17.38 seconds, $2,353. 2, Paige Jones, Wayne, Okla., 17.50, $1,765. 3, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.67, $1,176. 4, Michelle Merrick, Las Vegas, Nev., 17.82, $588.
Bull Riding: 1, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 87.5 points on Smith Pro Rodeo’s Roullette, $2,397. 2, Colton Kelly, Rhome, Texas, 87, $1,797. 3, Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho, 86.5, $1,797. 4, Keith Gleaves, Amarillo, Texas, 85, $599.

WATCH: Barrel Racing Qualifier

A mother of four from a town of 80 people in South Dakota set a new barrel racing arena record Wednesday at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Summer Kosel and her horse Apollo finished the big arena pattern in 17.02 seconds to win the qualifying round that trimmed the field from more than 190 barrel racers to 72. Kosel has never been to ‘The Daddy’ and came this year at the urging of a friend. She beat the previous Frontier Park time by one one-hundredth of a second.

WATCH: Breakaway Qualifier

Sundance, Wyoming’s Peggy Garman set a breakaway roping record at Cheyenne Frontier Days on Wednesday morning with a three-second flat run. She won the wild card round in which just twelve of 140 ropers advanced to afternoon performances starting Saturday at ‘The Daddy.’ Garman is an alum of Casper College where she spent two years on the rodeo team. It may be some time before a smile leaves her face.
https://youtu.be/5d7mvGnaWz0

WATCH: Steer Wrestling Qualifier

The Etbauer name has been synonymous with success at Cheyenne Frontier Days because a trio of Oklahoma saddle-bronc riding brothers ruled the roost for a long time. Robert Etbauer’s son Trell is a bit stouter, and he wrestles steers. Etbauer was faster than 130 of his bulldogging pals in qualifier Round 1 competition at ‘The Daddy’ Tuesday with a run of 5.7 seconds.

WATCH: Tie Down Roping Qualifier

Oklahoman Mike Johnson is Chute 9 royalty at Cheyenne Frontier Days. He won his first of two tie-down roping titles a quarter century ago and Johnson has entered ‘The Daddy’ for nearly four decades. He’s not going to many rodeos these days but the man who holds the NFR record for appearances in his event (23) was back in Cheyenne to easily advance out of the tie-down qualifying round with a solid 12.4 second run on Monday.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo qualifying rounds see new records

PICK UP MAN INITIATIVE COMBATS SUICIDE

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 21, 2022) – Cheyenne Frontier Days is tackling suicide awareness and prevention with a new campaign aimed at individuals attending and participating in “Daddy of ‘em All” events. They have enlisted the help of country music star Garth Brooks in promoting a campaign built around the role of the rodeo Pick Up Man in the arena.

The campaign encourages people to “reach out to a Pick Up Man or be a Pick Up Man for someone in need.” People contemplating suicide are directed to the new nationwide 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline. Individuals who see friends, family members, or neighbors struggling with mental health are encouraged to reach out.

“Our western culture of independence and self-reliance may inhibit people from seeking help, or people from offering help,” Tom Hirsig, CFD CEO said. “In rodeo, we call the pick up man a lifesaver in the arena. Every cowboy knows the pick up man is out there to help, to give a hand. And the athletes do not hesitate to reach out for help. We want everyone to use that example in their lives.”

A public service video featuring Garth Brooks will be played during rodeo and night show performances. The video was recorded at the request of and specifically for the CFD Pick up Man campaign. “Words cannot express our deep appreciation to Garth Books for his assistance in this important effort,” Hirsig said.

The campaign acknowledges that suicide rates in the Rocky Mountain West are among the highest in the nation. The CFD effort is intended to raise awareness and places a priority on connecting individuals to the national hotline, where appropriate counseling can be provided.

CFD will be selling “Pick Up Man” hat feathers and necklaces with as part of the campaign with net proceeds being given to local suicide prevention efforts.

July 16 the Unofficial Start of CFD

The unofficial start of Cheyenne Frontier Days will kick off July 16 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 23. Rodeo qualifiers are free to the public.

Qualifying Schedule:

  • July 16 at 8 a.m. — Steer Roping. Top 12 advance to Finals Sunday.
  • July 17 at 8 a.m. — Team Roping. Top 72 advance to rodeo performances.
  • July 18 at 8 a.m. — Tie Down Roping. Top 72 advance to rodeo performances.
  • July 19 at 8 a.m. — Steer Wrestling & Women’s Breakaway Roping. Top 72 advance to rodeo performances.
  • July 20 at 7 a.m. — Women’s Breakaway Roping & Barrel Racing. Top 72 advance to rodeo performances.