Step Back in History With Oldest Outdoor Rodeo

Started in 1897, Cheyenne Frontier Days draws 300,000 people over 10 days.

ByABC News via logo
July 26, 2008, 6:53 PM

CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 27, 2008 — -- There are few places left in America where what has come before us is as important as what lies ahead. Where the old is not made new, where the spirit of the past inspires the present.

And where history steps out of the museum ... to live and breathe.

That look back comes by way of the oldest outdoor rodeo in the country, which started in 1897 in Wyoming, to honor cowboys.

More than a century later, they still swagger across the state, and for 10 days every year, cowboys are the centerpiece of the Western celebration Cheyenne Frontier Days, which began July 18 and ends today.

This week and a half is about so much more than a rodeo and cowboys. This is about 112 years of tradition and a community that's determined to preserve a piece of our nation's history.

For 10 days, 2,800 volunteers make it all happen for more than 300,000 visitors.

From trolley rides and an old-fashioned parade to a free pancake feast -- that's more than one 100,000 flapjacks being flipped -- these third- and fourth-generation volunteers become the heart and soul of Frontier Days.

Arlene Kensinger will celebrate her 50th year as a volunteer.

"I think we're just all so proud of Cheyenne Frontier Days that we want to see it continue," she said. "My husband was a volunteer at Frontier Days for 65 years, so I didn't know any different when I married him."

Arlene Kensinger is an icon in this Western town and understands how tradition grows in people's hearts.

Forty years ago, she started one herself: a high school girl's equestrian group called The Dandies. They promote Frontier Days around the country on horseback and act as ambassadors during the event. It is an honor to be selected to bear the name.

"I'd just run into just little girls, just the other day that say, 'Oh, I am going to be a Dandy.' So when you grow up with that in your blood, how can you say anything else? It's just there," Kensinger said.

It means a lot to Kensinger to hear little girls say they dream of being a part of the group she began nearly half a century ago. "It makes me almost want to cry," said a teary-eyed Kensinger. "I keep thinking I should quit, but I can't make myself."