Hang on: Cheyenne Frontier Days bronco action. Photo: Corbis
Julie Miller visits the country's largest outdoor rodeo, rich in Wild West traditions and community spirit.
Eight seconds. It doesn't sound like much, but when you're on the back of a furious bull crammed into a metal-barred chute, it must feel like an eternity. That's how long a cowboy has to stay on the back of a bucking bovine to earn glory, a share of a million-dollar prize pool and dignity before a roaring crowd at the largest outdoor rodeo in the US.
It's the details that mark the intensity of the moment: the wild rolling of the animal's eyes, its liquid snort of fear, the tension in the cowboy's gloved fist as he grips a rope, his only means of support. Chute assistants shout as the bull lashes out, desperate for its ordeal to be over; while the nervous cowboy tentatively gives a nod to indicate he's ready.
A tribal elder. Photo: Julie Miller
As the gate swings open, the brute leaps out in fury, twisting like a tornado over a trailer park. The young cowboy leans back, bracing against the impact, chaps-clad legs flapping against muscular hide. But in this case, it's an unfair battle - one tonne versus 65 kilograms - and within just four seconds, the young cowboy hits the dust to the collective groans of 19,000 spectators.
The championship bull-riding event at Cheyenne Frontier Days is one of the highlights of the 10-day event held every July in Wyoming's capital. During this period, the usually sleepy city of 60,000 residents swells as up to 200,000 rodeo fans, competing cowboys and tourists converge to experience what is essentially a celebration of western heritage and culture.
Known as "the Daddy of 'em all", Cheyenne Frontier Days began in 1897 as a one-day Wild West exhibition, with rough riders, a cowboy parade and steer roping before a crowd of 6000 people. Today, it's one of the most popular, prestigious and richest rodeos in the world, featuring a dozen different events including a chuckwagon race, barrel racing, steer wrestling, wild horse races and, of course, bull-riding.
But the festival offers far more than just macho displays of man-versus-beast. Old-time cowboy culture is both on display and for sale at Wild Horse Gulch, a faux western village with food stalls, clothing and memento shops, a petting zoo, western art displays, wild horse adoption stalls and costumed gunslingers who entertain passing crowds with Hollywood panache. An Indian Village also sits alongside the main arena; and while this at first feels slightly tokenistic, daily dance demonstrations reveal a dignity and resoluteness to Wyoming's Native American culture. Tribal elders dressed in intricate and colourful traditional dress perform alongside youngsters, some as young as three years of age, encouraging them to take pride in their heritage.
Complementing the daily rodeo action is top-notch evening entertainment, with legendary country stars Merle Haggard and Hank Williams jnr playing alongside contemporary favourites Blake Sheldon and Zac Brown Band during the 2012 event. The music and dancing continues after the main concerts at the Buckin' A Saloon located in the heart of a carnival midway; while the bars in town also do a roaring trade as Stetson-wearing cowboys down shots, shoot pool and get into fist fights as the night wears on.
What better way to recover from a big night on the town, however, than with a free pancake breakfast? Three times during the festival, volunteers from the local Kiwanis Club serve up 150,000 flapjacks, mountains of ham and bucketloads of coffee to more than 15,000 hungry locals and tourists who queue for hours to indulge in a free meal accompanied by more local music.
In fact, it's this community spirit that makes Cheyenne Frontier Days such a charming occasion. Despite its scale and popularity, it boasts only 13 full-time employees - everything else is done by an army of more than 2500 volunteers.
"It's the Cheyenne thing to do," says local man Bill Dubois, when asked why he has volunteered in a variety of capacities for more than four decades - tasks including manning gates, traffic control, public relations, caring for the world's largest horse-drawn carriage collection and maintenance of the grounds throughout the year.
It's certainly testament to this small, dedicated community that Cheyenne Frontier Days has risen to such great heights and is now one of the premier events on the US rodeo circuit as well as Wyoming's most popular festival.
Julie Miller was a guest of Rocky Mountain International.
FAST FACTS
Getting there United Airlines has a fare to Denver for about $1840 return from Sydney and Melbourne including taxes. From Sydney fly to Los Angeles (13hr 25min) and then to Denver City (2 ½ hours). Melbourne passengers transit in Sydney. See www.united.com.
Rodeoing there The 2013 Cheyenne Frontier Days will be held from July 19-28. Headlining acts will include Dwight Yoakam, Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts and Toby Keith.
Staying there The Nagel Warren Mansion offers beautiful period-style guest rooms priced from US$148 in winter, US$155 in summer and US$294 during Frontier Days. www.nagelwarrenmansion.com.
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