Deer Trail and the rodeo that may be the world's first

Drive an hour east of the Denver suburbs and Arapahoe County turns to shortgrass plains, fence lines, and a small town that built its whole identity on one summer afternoon. The story goes that on July 4, 1869, hands from several area cattle outfits met near Deer Trail to settle who could ride the rankest, most unbroken horse the longest. A Mill Iron ranch rider named Emiline Gardenshire reportedly stayed aboard a bucking horse called Montana Blizzard for about fifteen minutes, earning a new suit of clothes and the title “Champion Bronco Buster of the Plains.”

That contest is widely credited as the world’s first rodeo. Deer Trail’s claim has been recognized by the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, the Colorado State Legislature, and the Guinness Book of World Records. It is a proud, well-traveled story, and it is also a contested one. A few other towns, including Pecos, Texas, and Prescott, Arizona, make their own “first rodeo” claims, though the events they point to came years later.

What makes Deer Trail worth a look is that the tradition never became a museum piece. The town still hosts an annual summer rodeo on its historic grounds, a working slice of ranch country that feels a long way from the metro area it shares a county with. For dates, the full account, and the official recognition, start with the Town of Deer Trail.