After weeks of spring-like temperatures, the sky gave way to clouds and snow flurries Thursday morning.

For those parking their trailers and brushing their horses in the parking lot of a dormant Coors Field, that sudden shift in weather could only mean one thing: Stock Show season.

As a kick-off to the 120th year of the National Western Stock Show, the annual parade featured legions of boot-, chap- and cowboy hat-clad riders making their way through downtown Denver via 17th Street during the brisk winter afternoon.

Hours before dozens of longhorns and hundreds of horses would blaze their way down a 17th Street doubly lined by a crowd of Denverites, the parade participants fed, groomed and saddled their animals as car horns and railroad bells rang out in the background.

For Gabe Moeller, a member of the Pikes Peak Range Rider Pivots, the day was already several hours old.

“I was up at four,” said Moeller, clad in a beige hat and standing next to his horse, Gunner. “(Gunner) likes his breakfast, so if I walk out in spurs and a cowboy hat, he takes off on me.”

Moeller and the rest of his range rider brethren had driven up from Colorado Springs on Thursday morning to participate in the parade.

“If you’re bringing out horses this early in the morning, in the snow, you’re here for the Stock Show,” Moeller said.

Standing in front of six horses, all being brushed and prepped for the parade by other members of her Elizabeth-based Blazing Saddles Drill Team, Sierra Taylor acknowledged how much work it took Wednesday to ensure everything would be ready.

“All day yesterday, I was running around, I drove 200 miles yesterday getting all the things together,” Taylor said, noting that she had to get everyone’s horses and equipment in the same place before the drive to Denver.

“I had to pick up a horse this morning,” Taylor added.

Even with the crowds that the parade can bring upon downtown Denver, volunteer coordinator Josh Bobb, a 30-year veteran of the Stock Show parade, said that the experience wasn’t all that much different from what the animals usually experience.

“This is what these horses do every day,” Bobb said. “Throwing saddles on, they’re around people, typically they’re around other animals.”

Bobb also noted that even though there were 40 on-site volunteers, all donning neon bibs and carrying walkie talkies, they had a policy of not helping people out with their animals.

“It’s a liability thing, it’s their animal,” Bobb said. “It’s kind of like, if you’re at a dog show, you’re not going to mess with somebody else’s dogs.”

DENVER STOCK SHOW PARADE DRAWS THOUSANDS

Thousands of people flocked to downtown Denver at noon Thursday dressed to the tens in their puffy coats and cowboy hats as the Stock Show parade moved down 17th Street.

In the shadow of Union Station, attendees clutched coffee cups and exhaled visible clouds into the cold January air. Many cheered as groups of legionnaires, cowboys and longhorns trotted down the roadway.

Sarah Holdeman, a teacher at Polaris Elementary in Denver, was in attendance with her class.

“This is our second year coming. I did hear in the past, they used to come every single year,” Holdeman said. “Now I’ve spearheaded bringing kids to the parade because we are so close. This is part of Denver history, and I really love for these kids to see it.”

Polaris student Adalie Herman, 10, said she and her family go to the Stock Show every year.

“I love seeing the horses,” she said. “My favorite part of the parade was definitely seeing the bulls. We didn’t get to see them last year.”

With icy, cold conditions in 2025, the bulls did not participate for their safety.

“At the Stock Show this year, I’m looking forward to seeing jumping and maybe the rodeo,” Herman said.

The 16-day Stock Show will officially begin Saturday morning with opening ceremonies. Those interested in attending any of the events can buy tickets and check the schedule at nationalwestern.com.