Livestock parades in cities around the U.S.

Every January, thousands of people flock to Downtown Denver to watch cowboys drive a herd of longhorn steers up 17th Street as the kickoff to the annual National Western Stock Show.

The parade is led by that photogenic cattle drive, followed by a variety of literal show ponies, cars, tractors and notable figures and celebrities.

“Stock shows, such as the National Western, are largely devoted to showing various breeds of livestock,” said Stan Searle of Searle Ranch in Monument, which has been providing the cattle and cowboys and cowgirls for this tradition since 2006.

“Adding a unique dimension, the epic reenactment of a cattle drive celebrates an era in the settlement of the Western U.S. The great cattle drives of the late 1800s fostered the establishment of the open-range cattle industry,” he added.

The parade actually takes place not far from where the first longhorns arrived in Denver as the animals were moved from Texas to Wyoming, following Cherry Creek along the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

“I think it’s real important, mostly for the urban audience, to get a real-life glimpse that shows them people are still living in the country, raising cattle, moving cattle, and that their hamburger doesn’t originate in the back of the grocery store,” said Searle. “Beef is a big economic sector in Colorado, and there are companies that depend on agriculture.”

The 2024 parade is on Thursday, Jan. 4, at noon, and the stock show takes place Jan. 6-21. The show includes special rodeo extravaganzas, livestock competitions, a juried art exhibit, folk dancing, exhibitors selling everything from food to apparel, live music, and education about agriculture.

The Trailing of the Sheep Festival

Colorado isn’t the only Western state to celebrate a major part of its ranching history. The Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Ketchum, Idaho, takes place in early October every year as part of the annual migration of sheep from their summer grazing grounds down through the Wood River Valley in the fall. Unlike the cattle drive in Denver, this is not a re-enactment to see the sheep being moved down the main street in Ketchum.

“We will lose the history and culture of shepherding and ranching in our region if we don’t keep the stories alive,” said Laura Musbach Drake, executive director of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, which includes four days of sheep-related activities such as sheepdog trials, lamb-menu tastings, a fair with folk dancing, sheep shearing, and lots of handmade wool items for sale. “This was once a generational business and that’s not necessarily the case anymore.”

To Drake’s point, the population of sheep (and their ranchers and herders) has been steadily declining in Idaho: In 1918, there were 2.6 million sheep in Idaho, which was six times the human population at the time, Drake said. In 1970, humans began to edge out the sheep with 700,000 people and 680,00 sheep. Today, there are nearly 2 million people who call Idaho home and an estimated 230,000 sheep.