It’s a world of cowboys and cowgirls, Native American Indian chiefs, scoundrels, scallywags, trick riders and ropers — all delivered in a live-action show from the dirt arena floor at the National Western Stock Show Events Center.

The Wild West Show brings a mix of action, excitement and education to hundreds of families each year with 43 performances during the 16-day Stock Show run.

“We thought families especially could enjoy a trip back in time to the Old West, and have it depicted on the arena floor and the act could change every year,” said NWSS CEO and President Paul Andrews, estimating the show’s been a staple for almost 30 years.

Organizers modeled it after William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West shows, which “used real cowboys and cowgirls, recruited from ranches in the west,” according to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden.

“People were enamored by Buffalo Bill,” said Jason Baker of Conifer, who plays the legendary cowboy and showman for the Wild West Show. “He started equal rights for women and equal pay. Annie Oakley was the star of his show and she made more money than all the guys.”

Baker is the nephew of character actor Buzz Baker, who played Bill for many years in the Stock Show Wild West Show.

“I love the history of Buffalo Bill,” Baker said before the show Sunday, donning his signature buffalo-skin jacket. “And being a spitting image of him doesn’t hurt.”

The arena goes dark as longhorn steers wander unattended on the arena floor.

A chuckwagon sits on the other side of the area, with a mock campfire and cowboys on bedrolls. Famed rodeo announcer Lynn Phillips sets the stage, describing cowboys, cattle drives and camp etiquette — like never galloping into camp in the morning as dust gets in the coffee and on a breakfast of beans warmed up from supper the night before.

The drives in the 1880s originating out of Texas took some three months and traversed some 1,000 miles, Phillips said. Cowboys earned $1 per day.

The actors played out a scene where a Native American Indian chief, portrayed by Shane Red Hawk from South Dakota, meets with the cowboys and works out a trade of a steer as a “toll” for the cattle drive crossing Indian lands.

Then cheers erupted as the show moved to performer Jessica Blair Fowlkes, clad in a pink outfit, standing on two horses as she navigated them around lit torches.

The Westernaires of Jefferson County reenacted the Riders of the Steppes, aka a troupe of Russian Cossacks (soldiers) which Buffalo Bill brought to America for his Wild West shows. The 18-person pyramid spread over about a dozen galloping horses impressed the crowd.

“It’s not a very expensive ticket, so it’s a very popular event here,” said Leon Vick, vice president of Rodeo Horseshow Operations for the Stock Show. “A lot of moms and families know that it’s a wonderful place to take the kids for an education in an entertaining way. The education is all about the west.”

As Cody always had a show featuring diverse participants, so did the Wild West Show. Indian dancers performed the traditional hoops dance, Mexican charros performed rope and riding tricks, while a group of Mexican women rode side-saddle in colorful dress in a traditional escaramuza.

But as with the Wild West shows more than 100 years ago, actor Elizabeth Clevette as Annie Oakley stole the show with her trick shooting. She took out white balloons while galloping at full speed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol. New this year, Oakley shot balloons behind her back with a rifle on her shoulder while aiming only with a mirror.

Clevette “has done a wonderful job practicing for the last two-and-a-half months to master that mirror shot trick by Annie Oakley,” Vick said.

Sara and John Sonne of Englewood brought their boys Jack, 10, and Jude, 6 — both donning sharp cowboy hats.

“That girl shooting at the balloons in the mirror was my favorite,” Jude said.

“The rider on the double horses was really cool,” Jack said.

The Sonne family took in the show after enjoying the Petting Zoo.

“We’re home schooling and we’re reading the Little Britches books by Ralph Moody,” Sara Sonne said. “We were just getting to the part about the cattle drives, so it’s cool to see it all come to life like this.”

Moody’s books for children were of his growing up on a ranch near Littleton from 1906-10, first published in 1950.

Baker said he’s honored to play Buffalo Bill. Most Saturdays and Sundays during the Stock Show’s run, he wanders the grounds and takes “thousands of pictures” with whomever asks.

“He played the Star Spangled Banner and ran out flags before every show,” Baker said of Cody. “That was before America had its own national anthem. … It means everything to follow in the footsteps of a guy like that. A man who was respected, followed and revered for years to come.”

For more information, schedules and tickets to the National Western Stock Show, which runs through Sunday, visit nationalwestern.com.

It’s a world of cowboys and cowgirls, Native American Indian chiefs, scoundrels, scallywags, trick riders and ropers — all delivered in a live-action show from the dirt arena floor at the National Western Stock Show Events Center.

The Wild West Show brings a mix of action, excitement and education to hundreds of families each year with 43 performances during the 16-day Stock Show run.

“We thought families especially could enjoy a trip back in time to the Old West, and have it depicted on the arena floor and the act could change every year,” said NWSS CEO and President Paul Andrews, estimating the show’s been a staple for almost 30 years.

Organizers modeled it after William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West shows, which “used real cowboys and cowgirls, recruited from ranches in the west,” according to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden.

“People were enamored by Buffalo Bill,” said Jason Baker of Conifer, who plays the legendary cowboy and showman for the Wild West Show. “He started equal rights for women and equal pay. Annie Oakley was the star of his show and she made more money than all the guys.”

Baker is the nephew of character actor Buzz Baker, who played Bill for many years in the Stock Show Wild West Show.

“I love the history of Buffalo Bill,” Baker said before the show Sunday, donning his signature buffalo-skin jacket. “And being a spitting image of him doesn’t hurt.”

The arena goes dark as longhorn steers wander unattended on the arena floor.

A chuckwagon sits on the other side of the area, with a mock campfire and cowboys on bedrolls. Famed rodeo announcer Lynn Phillips sets the stage, describing cowboys, cattle drives and camp etiquette — like never galloping into camp in the morning as dust gets in the coffee and on a breakfast of beans warmed up from supper the night before.

The drives in the 1880s originating out of Texas took some three months and traversed some 1,000 miles, Phillips said. Cowboys earned $1 per day.

The actors played out a scene where a Native American Indian chief, portrayed by Shane Red Hawk from South Dakota, meets with the cowboys and works out a trade of a steer as a “toll” for the cattle drive crossing Indian lands.

Then cheers erupted as the show moved to performer Jessica Blair Fowlkes, clad in a pink outfit, standing on two horses as she navigated them around lit torches.

The Westernaires of Jefferson County reenacted the Riders of the Steppes, aka a troupe of Russian Cossacks (soldiers) which Buffalo Bill brought to America for his Wild West shows. The 18-person pyramid spread over about a dozen galloping horses impressed the crowd.

“It’s not a very expensive ticket, so it’s a very popular event here,” said Leon Vick, vice president of Rodeo Horseshow Operations for the Stock Show. “A lot of moms and families know that it’s a wonderful place to take the kids for an education in an entertaining way. The education is all about the west.”

As Cody always had a show featuring diverse participants, so did the Wild West Show. Indian dancers performed the traditional hoops dance, Mexican charros performed rope and riding tricks, while a group of Mexican women rode side-saddle in colorful dress in a traditional escaramuza.

But as with the Wild West shows more than 100 years ago, actor Elizabeth Clevette as Annie Oakley stole the show with her trick shooting. She took out white balloons while galloping at full speed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol. New this year, Oakley shot balloons behind her back with a rifle on her shoulder while aiming only with a mirror.

Clevette “has done a wonderful job practicing for the last two-and-a-half months to master that mirror shot trick by Annie Oakley,” Vick said.

Sara and John Sonne of Englewood brought their boys Jack, 10, and Jude, 6 — both donning sharp cowboy hats.

“That girl shooting at the balloons in the mirror was my favorite,” Jude said.

“The rider on the double horses was really cool,” Jack said.

The Sonne family took in the show after enjoying the Petting Zoo.

“We’re home schooling and we’re reading the Little Britches books by Ralph Moody,” Sara Sonne said. “We were just getting to the part about the cattle drives, so it’s cool to see it all come to life like this.”

Moody’s books for children were of his growing up on a ranch near Littleton from 1906-10, first published in 1950.

Baker said he’s honored to play Buffalo Bill. Most Saturdays and Sundays during the Stock Show’s run, he wanders the grounds and takes “thousands of pictures” with whomever asks.

“He played the Star Spangled Banner and ran out flags before every show,” Baker said of Cody. “That was before America had its own national anthem. … It means everything to follow in the footsteps of a guy like that. A man who was respected, followed and revered for years to come.”

For more information, schedules and tickets to the National Western Stock Show, which runs through Sunday, visit nationalwestern.com.