DENVER, Colo. – The 118th National Western Stock Show got off to a great start with their signature Colorado Vs. The World rodeo competition.
This is the 11th year that the three rodeos featuring teams representing Colorado Rodeos and Rodeos from across North America have kicked off the best 16 days in January. The morning performance saw contestants representing rodeos outside of Colorado compete in bareback riding steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, and bull riding.
Then contestants from rodeos in Colorado competed in the same events Saturday afternoon. The top four from those performances advanced to Saturday night’s rodeo. The field was then narrowed down to the top score or fast time from each team. Team Colorado and Team World then went head-to-head in the final round to declare a winner. This year, Team Colorado was victorious in three of the five events.
Last year, Wyatt Casper from Miami, Texas won his second saddle bronc riding championship on Super Saturday representing Team World. This year, he was back for the Elizabeth Stampede and earned his third title for Team Colorado. That win was worth $10,250 for the former National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association champion saddle bronc rider.
The bareback riding championship went to Seth Hardwick who started out the day riding for the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs. He finished third to advance to the semifinals where he was at the top of Colorado’s leaderboard. He remained in first place after scoring 90 points in the finals. He earned a total of $9,850 in the Denver Coliseum.
The third member of Team Colorado to earn a championship was Jace Melvin who was steer wrestling for the National Western Stock Show Rodeo. Melvin won the Colorado performance and added $10,250 to his checking account.
She may have been barrel racing for the San Angelo, Texas, Rodeo, but Kim Schulze’s trip to Denver took her less than one hour. The Larkspur, Colorado, resident earned the championship in the final round and $9,575.
There is another Frost riding bulls at this year’s National Western. Jate Frost, younger brother of Joe and Josh Frost who have both had success in Denver in the past is adding his name to his family’s legacy of great bull riders. Jate Frost rode for Rodeo Austin and was the only bull rider in the field of 16 to cover three bulls. That was worth $10,350 for the Randlett, Utah resident.
Entertainment in the Denver Coliseum continues on Sunday, January 7, with two performances of the Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza. The cross-cultural event features competition, dancing, and music with performances at 2 and 6:30 p.m.