HSU Insider

Cheyenne Frontier Days

• By Dave Coffield
• Posted August 1, 2006 9:45 AM
• 0 Comments

The Six White Horses finally get a rest after a packed summer schedule of Texas Rodeos, the Boston Lion’s Club International parade, and now, the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Billed as the “Daddy of ‘em all,� the Frontier Days rodeo and western events is the largest such gathering in the United States. The HSU Six White Horses have been invited every year in the modern era of the event, and made the trip again this year.

With only a two-week break after Boston, the horses were on the road again, this time going west. Short one rider (a wedding and a work commitment kept the sixth and alternate riders from traveling), the master cowgirl herself, Debbie Jones, took the sixth position as the horses rode in 8 grand entries and acted as outriders in 4 parades. Jones, the Six White Horses program director, also pulled the preacher’s buggy with Powder and Shine in the harness in each of the parades.

Thursday, July 27, was Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the Cheyenne event, so the riders wore their pink outfits, made bows for the horses, and painted their hooves with pink glitter.

When the riders weren’t entertaining the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to the Frontier Days Rodeo and Western Celebration, they hopped into a 1930’s era Yellowstone tour buss and drove off to watch the Air Force Thunderbirds show, visit the Cheyenne Frontier Days museum, tour the Wyoming museum, and dine at innumerable pancake breakfasts.

One thing the Six White Horses riders are known for is their work ethic, and Cheyenne was no exception. On parade days the girls were up at 4:30 a.m. (and 5:30 a.m. the other days) to clean pens and wash their horses.

The team is on the road home now; the girls will scatter for the summer, and the horses can take a month off. Fall starts with try-outs for positions vacated by graduating seniors, We’ll see 20 – 25 girls trying out for 3 positions, so the competition will be tight…and sometimes unintentionally comical. We’ll report it for you with all the behind-the-scene’s details.