Who says “Cowtown’s” best days are behind her?

Sure, artificial intelligence might wind up taking more time this legislative session than agriculture. And, yes, all the way up to Gov. Jared Polis’ tone-deaf “Meat Out Day” and, of course, the wolf reintroduction debacle, the Centennial State’s ag community has been overlooked at times by some of Colorado’s political establishment.

But among Colorado’s everyday citizens, there is as much respect and reverence for our state’s ranching past, present and future as ever. How else do you explain the record-breaking, 118,919 people in attendance for the opening weekend of the National Western Stock Show in Denver? The 16-day event kicked off last Saturday.

There are other contributing factors explaining the droves of drovers who descended on the National Western Complex Saturday and Sunday for this 120th edition of the stock show. For one, there’s the grand opening of the 30-acre Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center and The Legacy, the National Western Stock Show’s new world headquarters, featuring 2.2 million square feet of new indoor and outdoor space. Like an amusement park drawing return customers thanks to a new state-of-the-art roller coaster, the impressive new facilities are certainly an attraction for anyone seeking a fun way to spend the day with family and friends.

Then there’s the weather, a huge improvement over the same time last year, which saw frigid, icy conditions that prevented the traditional longhorn cattle drive from taking place on downtown Denver streets.

With more clear weather conditions on tap for the remainder of the stock show, event officials anticipate more than 700,000 people in total will attend this year, which would best 2025’s 658,109 visitors and rank among the highest turnouts ever for the epic event.

If (and maybe when) the 2006 record of 726,972 is broken this year, what a statement that would be from not only Coloradans, but people across the west and the 50 U.S. states and dozens of nations represented. 

The memo to our state government? Though, as a body, you’ve failed to prioritize Colorado’s ag community, even among urban and suburban citizenry there remains an appreciation for Colorado ag’s history, a demand for its products and a desire to preserve its culture into the Centennial State’s next century.

With Colorado turning 150 in 2026, a record-breaking stock show reminds us who feeds most Coloradans, no matter the weather. It crystallizes just who are the intrepid individuals and communities at the heart of a western pioneering ethos that in recent years has become something city slickers have grown to esteem via Hollywood productions like “Yellowstone”, “1923,” “1883,” and “Landman,” among others.

Well, city slickers and urban transplants to Colorado — welcome. We’re happy to have you! At the stock show you’ll find the real-life, in-the-flesh ranchers of Colorado who rival any of the characters on those bingeworthy streaming series.

These are the men and women who descend from the strapping settlers who braved and built our state’s foundation on Colorado’s wild prairies and mountain pastures. They also are the men and women who continue to stoke our state’s $50 billion ag economy — even in todays’ tech-savvy times.

Giddy up, partner.