Denver is a cow town. Let's face it. Since 1865, a lot
of our livelihood has come through agriculture,
through stock raising. The stock show
really does embody the history of the West because
it has water, the railroad, livestock. The first official
stock show was in 1906. That really kicked off
what has become one of the greatest shows on earth. National Western Stock Show is
the top combination stock show, rodeo, and horse
show in the world. It is known as the Super
Bowl of cattle shows. There are over 100
years of agriculture, competition, commerce,
all woven together at this historic place. It is an expression of
our Western heritage, in all its various and multiple
and manifold dimensions. It truly is a place to be. It's the place to be. This program was funded by
the History Colorado State Historical Fund. Supporting projects
throughout the state to preserve, protect,
and interpret Colorado's architectural and
archaeological treasures. History Colorado
State Historical Fund, create the future,
honor the past. With support from the Denver
Public Library and History Colorado, with additional
funding and support from these fine organizations
and viewers like you. Thank you. [music playing] This is a livestock show. There are so many
animals that are here. Cattle. Cows, heifers, bulls, calves. Horses, horses,
horses, horses, horses. Goats, pigs, bison, yaks. More varieties of chickens
than I can even begin to count. Ducks and geese and
guineas and turkeys. Dogs, burros, mules. Horses, horses, horses. Sheep, bunnies. Llamas, alpacas, all
kinds of critters. Then they have ponies. And oh, by the way, they
have mini horses too. You could pretty
much come and find any type of livestock of
different sizes, breeds, quality, background,
over the entire couple weeks of the Stock Show. That's what the National
Western's about, and it's all-encompassing. It's a place to
learn about animals. It's a place to learn about
food, and growth, and future, and history. I would say that
the National Western is a gathering in
January to socialize, to get together, to have fun,
but also to learn and become better educated. Little kids come
to the Stock Show, and they go down
into the show pens, and they see those cattle
get dusted, and vacuumed, and brushed, and pampered. And they get a sense of what
the food chain is really like, not just in a package
at the grocery store. For years, it was
just a generic deal. You know, you went
down to the supermarket and bought a lump of hamburger. And it was just a
buy, sell process. Now the world has
become deeply interested and involved in their food,
and how it was raised, and where it came from,
so that bleeds over into events like the
National Western Stock Show. It's going to be important
that we educate our children through things like the
National Western Stock Show on how this entire
region came together. You know, it was formed
from agriculture. This state still has agriculture
as one of its leading economic drivers. The Stock Show, in
the old days, when we had packing plants,
and much more facilities to take cattle
in, this was where cattle were bought and sold. Stock Show had a very colorful
beginning and colorful history, and of course, in those
days, Denver was a cow town. The seminal event of the
1800s was, of course, extending the railroad into
the Western United States. And of course, the main
thing the railroads quickly discovered, in order
to operate profitably, is they had to haul
cattle and livestock. Because of Denver's
location at the crux of the mountains
and the plains, it was a very important
transportation hub for the ranching industry. To reach the West
Coast, they had to have some place in between on
the rail line to bring cattle. You know, they'd all die before
you'd get to the West Coast, so they selected Denver. Railroad companies,
by 1870, were racing to be the first into Denver. And so, stockyards began
to grow up right outside of downtown Denver. In order to have stockyards,
and have trading and activity to market cattle,
they had to have office space for the
cattle traders, and
the packer buyers, and the bankers, and
the other people involved, so they decided to build
an exchange building. So in 1898, the Denver Union
Stockyard Exchange building was built. There
was more of a need to build permanent
buildings to house the different enterprises
that made their living off of the cattle industry. It was a major, major
livestock market, what they called the Central Market. And they were thriving. Business was good. So you can imagine
this hub of activity, and the myriad of rail
lines, and all the cattle, and the cowboys, and the
noise, and the excitement. And that excitement got carried
on because it was thought, well, if we're having all
of this livestock exchange, maybe we should
do something that adds a little more entertainment
and some competition. So they had the
first livestock show. In 1898, the Stock
Growers Association organized a stock show and
a grand public barbecue. They planned to feed between
20,000 and 30,000 Denverites. And Zang's Brewing Company
came and gave away free beer. And the barbecue was
completely overrun. People kind of got a little
carried away with the booze, and then most of them
ended up in jail. Such a riot ensued,
such a huge crowd, that then they didn't
hold the stock show for a couple of years after
that, not knowing for sure what to do. It really didn't get going
officially until 1906. A lot of it was down in the
front of the exchange building. Where we are now,
there were tents. There were no show buildings. There were no
stadiums built yet. And so, the organizers
borrowed a circus tent from the Sells Floto
Circus and erected it on the site of the
Stock Show today. And at that time, the
admission was free. Anybody could come down. They could go
through the grounds. They could watch the judging. They could inspect the
cattle for themselves, and by making it
open to the public, the cattle raisers
really democratized this idea of this
event, this Stock Show, really belongs to all of us. Harry Petrie, give him credit,
the first General Manager. He apparently had the
management and skills that it takes to organize and
delegate authorities to others. A real business civic
leader, had great interest in the livestock
industry, and because of his ambition and
his desire, why, he gave a lot of time and
input in establishing the Show, and got the Show off
to a great start. And one of the greatest
things that was added was the old stadium. So in 1909, the organizers built
the first permanent Stock Show venue, the Stadium Arena,
which is still standing today, so that people could come in,
get out of that harsh January weather, and enjoy
the Stock Show. It was kind of a vacation
in the winter time, to get away from
the ranch, the farm, before the spring work started,
and it was a big celebration. And they all went downtown, and
stayed at the different hotels, and because of that, why, it
became a very elegant show, many society people attending. They would dress in
their finest garb, and they would bring
their fanciest horses, and they would
come to socialize. It was a big, big,
big, big deal. People came from all
over the country. It's a National
Western Stock Show, so they arrived via railroad. And when they came
here, they stepped out into the muddy, filthy,
dirty stockyards-- and I can't imagine
what it was doing to the hems of those fine
dresses-- but they had a ball. Because this was
the event to be at. This was the place to see and
be seen in Denver society. The '30s were a really
dark time for agriculture, and for America in general. And as a result of that, the
Stock Show really struggled. Because of the Dust
Bowl like conditions, stock raising was virtually
impossible on the plains. It actually profited
farmers more just to slaughter their
livestock, than pay for the feed to raise them. Those days of the Dust Bowl. the Depression,
were horrible years. But the Show continued on. When they added a
rodeo in 1931, they added to the entertainment
value of the Show, so that did bring people
here, and even though times were tough, they
didn't have much money, they made means to bring
themselves to Denver and enjoy the show. It still represented that
beacon of hope, that light of, this is still the
best of who we are. This is the place where, if
you overcome the hardship, if you struggle,
and succeed, you can bring the fruit of
that here to the Stock Show and show that off, and you might
actually make some money off of it. I can remember
back to about 1941, and I remember seeing all
the military equipment. And I can still hear the great
voice of Sy Tellian saying, we don't have quite as much of
a military display this year because our men are in a foreign
land fighting for our freedom. There was a heavy emphasis on
patriotism and on sacrifice for the common good. And proceeds for the sale
of the champion cattle were given to support
the war effort. In World War I, they
supported the Red Cross. In World War II,
the proceeds were used to invest in war
bonds, and showed the nation that the cattlemen
were doing their part to support the country
in a time of crisis. Coming back from World War II,
there were so many new options in construction
and in engineering. The Coliseum Building,
built in 1952, it really embodies that spirit
of the post-World War II building boom. In the late 1940s and
1950s, the city of Denver began to acquire some
energetic new young leaders. And leaders like
Quigg Newton really were looking to the
future, and trying to create a new,
modern, vibrant city. I think the Denver
Coliseum really represents their forward
thinking, and their new ideals. Cast out of concrete,
it's relentlessly modern. This big, bowed ceiling was
constructed at the Coliseum. People were bold
to build things, to move the Stock Show
into a bigger building. It really speaks to
everyone's confidence in the future of the Stock Show. I have a fond memory
of Willard Simms. For a number of years,
he was the editor of the Record Stockman, a very
popular weekly publication livestock news. My grandfather, H.E. Green,
hired him as a reporter, rising up to becoming General
Manager of the Record Stockman. And then in 1955,
John T. Caine III, who was the General Manager
of the National Western, suddenly died. John T. Caine III, he
was a tremendous man. And so loved, and did so
much for the children, and the youth shows of that day. And so, Willard was the
logical one to take his place, and he did a really good job. Then you have business
leaders, like Nick Petry. He was chairman of the board
and president here for years, who donated his business
expertise, and time, and money to the Stock Show,
and the building of grounds and facilities,
and the acquisition of land. In my first year, they bought
another 10 acres to the north, thanks to the leadership
of Nick Petry at that time. And I think he really
brought the show a long ways. The first year I came, in 1967,
to the Stock Show, what really impressed me were the yards. I don't know how many
cattle there were, but I remember walking
out, and then going up on that overpass walkway. It was like a sea
of cattle in pens. I had never seen that
many cows in one spot. There's a lot of
cattle that come in. Angus are the dominant
breed in America. Probably the second largest
breed is the Hereford breed, and then you have
Longhorns, which, of course, are the native
cattle to the western United States and Mexico. Limousin breed, which are
cattle imported from France. A Gelbvieh breed, which are
cattle imported from Austria. The South Devon breed, which are
cattle that come from England. Scottish Highlands, which
are big, long haired cattle. Charolais are a huge breed,
and of course, imported from France, what Big Mac was. Then in the 1970s, there
was a terrible scandal. Big Mac, the grand
champion steer, who won the championship,
but later turned out was being passed off as an
entirely different breed of cattle than he actually was. Charolais cattle are white. They had dyed a
Charolais steer black. They knew that a purebred
Charolais steer was not going to win, and
particularly in those days, Charolais were just newly
imported into America. So there was no
chance they were going to select a Charolais steer
as a grand champion steer. And it probably took
cases of shoe dye to ever get a 1,000 pound
steer completely black. This young man from Iowa,
he had the grand champion steer that year, he was
a so-called Angus steer. Well, my brother, Jack,
knew that this was not an Angus steer. And there was a lot of
confrontation about it in blood typing, and
oh, it caused an uproar. According to Willard
Simms, it was not resolved until March 17th,
when Big Mac turned white. In 1988, people and fans
were being turned away at the gates of Stock Show. Denver Fire Department
was raising Cain about not complying with code. The papers were in flames over
Stock Show's physical facility decline. When they needed to add on
to the Hall of Education, and really do some major
rebuilding of the grounds, why, Nick Petry, who was
chairman of the board, got Pat to agree
to chair the bond drive, to pass a bond issue in
the city and county of Denver to fund the construction
on the grounds. So we were out here
trying to pass this
bond issue, and get this
supported,and that
slogan was, don't lose the Stock Show to Texas. And there was a little
bit of a jingle, and that jingle
worked like a dream. Long and short is
we got it supported. We passed with 70%
voter approval. People did not want to lose
this beloved institution. With the bond
issue in 1989, they gave us the money to expand
the Hall of Education, and furthermore, to build
the new event center. Well, then that opened
it up with venues that we could use to expand
the different type of shows. We started the Mexican
Rodeo Extravaganza. National Western
was the first rodeo that developed a Mexican rodeo. National Western
was the first rodeo to develop the
African-American rodeo. Willard Simms had a study done
of the National Western Stock Show compared with some of the
major stock shows in Texas, and it was determined
that we had to have something that appealed
to the urban people again. And so, we started a llama show. And at that time, we started
kind of a semi dog show. And I've always had
a love of horses, and I have a great
enjoyment of music. Combined the two into what was
known as an evening of dancing horses. Dancing horses. That's an evening where you
are entertained with the beauty and elegance that they possess,
as well as their athleticism. It was very successful. It was another
ticketed performance. It was another way to
build our cash flow and build our success. And enormous credit
needs to be given to an awful lot of people. One of them was a guy named
Swede Johnson at Coors Brewing Company. Swede called me
up, he said, Pat-- he had a real gruff
voice-- he said, I think you guys ought to
start an art show down there. Growl, growl. Pat said, well,
that's a great idea, but how can we
possibly afford that? And Swede said, well, I will
give you $15,000 to launch it. And the project then would
be up to you to create. And then, the show started
the very next year. The Coors Western Art Exhibit
and Sale started in 1993. The show was really small. It was about 30 artists. The room was 2/3 the
size of what it is now. We gathered upstairs in
the Hall of Education, and the poultry
show was coming up, and we were actually
with the chickens, getting ready to be shown. So you used to be able to have
a cocktail and shop for art while you walked around and
saw all the various fowl that were being shown. It was actually the Coors'
employees that picked the art. It was the assistant,
maybe the line manager, you know, different people. And Harriet Kelly,
one of our people that sit on our advisory
committee, was there. And she would say, it was awful. It was really awful. First year, I think
we made $5,000. And by god, from
there it went up. Then it became such an
exceedingly popular event that it's been
moved to the night before, really the true
kick off for the Stock Show. It's an art exhibit
that's really surrounded by horses, and
sheep, and cattle, and cowboys, and things that are
not thought of as being accoutrements to an art exhibit. But you will see very
different thoughts in art, and different conversations
about art, and about the West. And a lot of our
artists, by the way, come from ranching backgrounds. So when they know that the funds
raised by the Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale go to the
National Western Scholarship Trust, that really makes
them feel very proud. The Trust funds around
80 scholarships a year, and the Junior
livestock Auction, Coors Western Art Exhibit,
Boots and Business Luncheon, and the Citizen of the
West all fund that Trust. Each year, a Citizen of the
West is named, announced, and a dinner is
prepared in his honor. And it encourages all the
people of the community to come out and pay homage to
that particular individual. It's gotten to be probably
the most prestigious award you can get in town, and
it's a very special night that serves a great cause. The National Western preserves
the heritage of the West by just being here,
and being the biggest, and the Super Bowl
of stock shows. Once a year, for 16 days, the
National Western is the focus. You think of the
parade going down 17th Street, the heart of
the financial district, and there they are, that
entire cattle drive. They really line the streets
to see the stock show parade, especially the
Longhorns because they were some of the first
cattle in the United States, with the big old horns, and
they're really a crowd pleaser. The momentum that it creates
before the Stock Show, and after to a
certain extent, that goes a long ways towards keeping
the character and the values of the Stock Show up front. Every year, you can go down to
the Brown Palace, and roped off is the grand champion steer from
the National Western Stock Show in the lobby of one
of our finest hotels. We're a cow town. It really creates
this stamp of the West during the time the
Stock Show's going on. And the rodeo is one of the
top rodeos in the country. In fact, it's been voted
the best indoor rodeo in America several times. When you come to a rodeo, you
can expect to see bronc riding, steer wrestling, calf
roping, barrel racing, and then you have the
illustrious bull riding. But the rodeo has a lot of
events that are going on to include everybody. Families are our biggest
attendees at the National Western Stock Show. We've got a petting
zoo for the kids. We have Thank a
Farmer Magic Show. We've got the National
Western Nursery, where people can
come into our site and see newborns with their
mothers feeding, which is really an
educational opportunity. We have the fiddle championships
that come up on the weekends. Fiddle competition? Are you kidding me? I mean, it's just incredible. There's so much going
on here, and one of my absolute favorite
events to watch is the dog time trials. They have stock dogs that
herd sheep and herd cattle, but you also have
a junior hog show. Just so many things for
kids, and Mutton Bustin' is one of the favorites. The child climbs on the sheep,
and they hold on to the wool, and whoever rides it the
farthest is the winner. There's 50 events a day that
the National Western Stock Show currently hosts. We have a trade show that
has 800 plus booth spaces. There's something for
everyone, and they say it's the largest
trade show in Colorado. When you get 600,000 people
coming through the gate, they're doing something
right I guess. In the 2015 show, 680,000 people
plus came across this site in 16 days, and that is huge. The Stock Show is a big
financial driver to Colorado, and certainly to Denver. And it's not just the
tickets purchased, there's also the trade
associated with it. Billions of dollars change
hands through the transaction of sales over the cattle. It's been essential
to our economy. Economic impact is right
around $115 million a year for the entire National Western
complex with, really, buildings that need a great
deal of work, that are really no longer competitive. It shows you what
the future can be with taking today's
economic impact, and at least doubling it in a
new National Western Center. The planning for the new
National Western Center really started back
in the early 2000s. The first thing we did
was come up with a vision. Basically, it's to be the best
we can, and do the most we can in education and agriculture,
including involving the community around us. And we've made a map
out of it, and came up with a master development plan. Colorado State University, and
the city and county of Denver, and History of Colorado,
and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
has come forth and said, we've got programming
visions for what this can become with a 365
day agricultural education facility, rather than just 16
days of the National Western Stock Show. It is not just the National
Western Stock Show. It will be the National
Western Center, where there is
education at the highest level about all things,
that will help people with plants, with animals. It's going to be a focal
point, and it's huge. It will be an absolute marvel. Much of the complex
would be built by 2020. In 2020, what I'm
most excited about is the Stock Show is going
to feel so much the same because it's going
to be respectful of its Western heritage. The new plan does envision
keeping the Stadium Arena, which is the original
National Amphitheater, and the Exchange
Building in the yards will be the two historical
cornerstones that are left. They're going to be a pinnacle
piece of this new master plan that will continue
the life of the Stock Show for the next 100 years. The real legacy is that
the National Western is the last major thing that
reaches back into Colorado's agricultural history. Do we live in the past, or
do we live in the future, or can we live in
both at the same time? And the Stock Show is both. It helps us remember
who we were, and it helps us
remember who we are. It keeps us well grounded
to our agricultural roots. The culture, the
western story, you can hear the echoes of the past. You can smell it. You can see the rolling
landscape down to the river, and it allows you to have
more of a personal connection. You can feel that
your heart is here. It helps us think
about the future, and about sustainability,
and about how we use the
environment, and how we want to create a better
future for our kids by exposing them to the
traditions of the past. And 100 years from
now, we're still going to have a cattle industry. And as long as we keep
building on what we have, I think Colorado's going
to be better off for it. We're all working hard on
developing that vision, going for the next
100 years here to make this
complex be something that will be celebrated by
everyone across the world. [music playing]
