Chilly weather and lingering snowpack did little to stop thousands from attending the annual National Western Stock Show parade Thursday.

Maybe it was pent-up demand from the last two parades being cancelled.

The parade, the unofficial opening event for the “Super Bowl of livestock shows,” took over 17th Street for almost two hours as longhorn cattle, mounted police and Golden’s Westernaires brought rural tradition to the paved streets and sidewalks of downtown.

While the Downtown Denver partnership was not able to get an official estimate of crowd sizes, Joshua Schneider, the vice president of marketing and communications, was happy to see the parade back.

“We are excited to see everyone come out for it,” he said. “It is events and traditions like these that make downtown a special place to work and play.”

Denver’s Parade of Lights attracted more than 300,000 people according to Schneider. The New Year’s celebration and fireworks saw more than 60,000.

The Stock Show parade was cancelled in 2021 and 2022, due to COVID-19 and a major winter storm, respectively. But this year, there was no stopping it, and many were glad to see riders back in the saddle.

Parade coordinator Debbie Mills acknowledged some lingering concern about ice and snow, but had unwavering confidence in the riders involved.

“They’re all accomplished horse people so they know what they’re doing,” she said. “We have over 350 horseback riders and horses, 30 wagons and the longhorns that are coming in a few minutes.”

Mills also complimented the City of Denver, saying they’d done a “fabulous job” clearing snow and ice from the streets.

Having the parade cancelled the previous two years, Mills was excited to see it making a return.

“Oh my gosh, it’s great,” she said. “We have had so much support from the community and the businesses down here. People are excited that it’s back and the people that are in it are excited that it’s back.”

Mills’ was most excited to see the Texas Longhorns make their way through Denver’s skyscrapers, given how “unusual” that is for a city dominated by car, bike, scooter and foot traffic.

The notion was echoed by Peter Castro, an attendee who said it was a “pretty amazing sight.”

Castro was joined by his Australian Shepard, Playa — Spanish for beach — who didn’t seem at all bothered by the smells of livestock and massive crowds. Castro has lived in Denver for almost 17 years and tries to hit the stock show annually.

A big hit for his children is the “Xtreme Dogs Show,” where dogs partake in feats of athleticism. Castro said his family also try to catch a rodeo every year and said the meeting of frontier culture and urban culture is an important part of the stock show.

“It’s a part of understanding why Colorado is the great state that it is today,” he said. “[It’s part of] understanding the folks that have come before us and what it took to live here 100-150 years ago.”

Part of that life was caring for a horse, and that’s exactly what the Westernaires do. The Westernaires is a Golden-based non-profit organization that teaches children aged 9-19 years old horsemanship and other values. The group’s riders participated in the parade.

Jeff Blatt’s daughter is a Westernaire, but was not at the parade as schools came back in session recently. He still showed up with a massive sign decorated by her, encouraging the riders who were participating. Some will be graduating from the program this year, and he encouraged them to “ride with pride” as they trotted down 17th Street.

“It’s an organization that teaches kids about hard work and camaraderie,” he said. “It’s not an organization that you can just show up to and ride for.”

During the winter months, Blatt said it can be hard to get kids up at 6 a.m., when it’s dark and cold outside. But the work done, caring for the horses, grooming them and tacking them up makes the graduation ceremony at the National Wester Stock Show rodeo all the more worth it, he said.

Blatt has lived in Colorado for 54 years, and remembers attending the stock show many times as a boy. He guessed this was his seventh year attending in recent memory.

In a word? He loves it.

“It shows Colorado’s roots as a cowboy town that has grown up,” he said. “National Western and Westernaires keep the western spirit alive. There’s lots of ranching east and west, and this is a chance to showcase that heritage and how we started.”

For two family members, it was their first time attending. Laurie Pechie and Suzanne Killmer said neither of them had seen anything like the stock show parade. Pechie has lived in Denver 16 years, and this was her first time attending the opening parade.

“It’s a unique event to our area, so we both decided to attend,” Pechie said.

Killmer, an occupational therapist who moved to Denver last year. She said the parade’s grand master, Dr. Temple Grandin, gave her a sense of personal connection to the parade. Killmer called Grandin a “pioneer” in the field of sensory issues, specifically for individuals of neurodiversity.

Grandin is well known for her animal activism, but she has also served as a spokesperson for many living with autism. Throughout her life, she has sought to understand her own brain and share that knowledge with others to get them into the positions they deserve, according to previous reporting.

The two enjoyed the parade and both said they’d plan to come back next year. In the near future though, they will be attending the stock show. Two events caught their eyes: Barrel racing and mutton busting.

“Mutton busting just looks hysterical,” Pechie said. “I do worry for the kids, but it is so funny.”

Both had front row seats to the parade. Literally, they folded the chairs up and walked away after the parade ended.

The last vehicles in the parade? Street sweepers.