2010 Nation Western Stock Show Features Colorado Governor Bill Ritter's Western Skills

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter had a special appointment after Mayor Hickenlooper's candidacy announcement. Like some kind of Western action hero, he changed into pale blue shirt and jeans, put his hat on his head and headed for the National Western Stock Show. Without any fanfare he entered the ring, got on his mechanical horse, and proceeded to rope calves on wheels that shot out from under the spring-loaded horse. That's politics in the new West, pretty much the same as the old West. You've got to be comfortable in the saddle.

If Hickenlooper takes over Ritter's office, he'll have some pretty big boots to fill. Ritter roped 3 out of 4 goats (hay bale with plastic goat head) as well as a fair number of the wheeled calves. He tossed horseshoes and, assuming he completed the course, tossed cow chips, penned pigs and a few other tasks along with members of the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. During the early part of the evening, though, he stuck with the roping.

That's the whole spirit of the National Western Stock Show. They bring ranchers together from all over, add families and tourists and city folk, sprinkle in politicians and businessmen and watch magic happen. With a little over two weeks of full days of activities, you never know what you will see. In this case I thought it looked like they were setting up a kids event, I was just resting in the stands. Imagine my surprise when the Governor started roping!

With an arena full of businessmen and politicians, I saw them paying a kind of homage to the businesses that are at the heart of Colorado. One visiting ranch family with a pen in the stockyards puts up a sign "we love Denver!" along with this year's count: Sixty-seven years of continuous attendance at the stock show with their cattle. Denver clearly loves the stock show and the Western Spirit that it revives every January in the big city.

This adds another sport to the many enjoyed at the stock show: celebrity and VIP spotting. Last year I heard a report of a Rockefeller visiting, and some other names as well. Celebrities are gentleman farmers, horse enthusiasts and fans of Western Spirit, and with its national and even global events, you never know who you will see at the National Western Stock Show.

Check out the stockyards, auction halls, horse events in the event center and even the various livestock on display in the main building. Keep your eyes open and you might just be surprised at who you will see - and what you might see them doing.