This past January, we helped make one of my husband Slaed’s Bucket List dreams come true. We got to attend Denver’s National Western Stock Show as a family! Since Bergen was a baby (he’s now 7.5 years), Slaed talked about taking us.  He has fond memories of going as a kid, and when such a huge event happens every year in your home town, it’s a big deal!

Most folks would be planning a trip to Colorado in January around the slopes.  I guess we do things a little differently.  Instead of a ski getaway, our family planned our long Martin Luther King, Jr holiday weekend around cattle and horses.

The National Western Stock Show takes place every January in Denver.  The event is known as “the best 16 days in January”, and was established in 1906!  In case you aren’t familiar with what a stock show is (I wasn’t!), here’s a quick excerpt from their about page:

Throughout this historic event, the National Western strives to strengthen American agriculture through enrichment programs and youth education in livestock, equestrian, farming, ranching, animal awareness and appreciation.  We celebrate western lifestyles, our communities, provide life-long memories and family traditions.

To give you an idea of what it’s like to attend the National Western Shock Show with kids, we compiled a list of helpful tips.  I also interviewed my family asking their personal highlights of our day at the stock show.  Hearing from someone who’s attending many, many times (Slaed), an adult who has never attended (me), a 7 year old boy (Bergen), and a 4-year old girl (Georgia) will hopefully give you an idea of the wide range experiences.

National Western Stock Show with Kids Quick Tips

Purchase Tickets Early

When you already have your tickets (ranging from about $20 to free, depending on age), you are set, and it’s one last thing to worry about when you arrive.  Parking is free, so after finding a spot, you can just walk right in, and let the fun begin!

Pick One Big (ticketed) Event to See

Since there are already so many exhibits, animals, and activities, we suggest just picking one extra ticketed event to see.  There are so many special shows to choose from! They cover a wide range of time and interest options:  Rodeos, dog shows, mutton bustin’, dancing horses, and a wild west show are just a handful of the possibilities. Taking time (we didn’t want to stay too late in the evening) and interest of our kids, we chose the Xtreme Dog Show.  You can read more about it below in our highlights!

Arrive Right When the Stock Show Opens

For our family at least, it’s so important to take advantage of those morning hours when the kids are fresh and super excited.  We were much more relaxed throughout the day knowing that we had plenty of time to take in as much as we could.  We also suggest going straight for the petting zoo to be part of the first round of visitors, otherwise the line can get REALLY long. 

Hit the Information Booth

At the information booth, you can grab a copy of the daily schedule.  That way, you can plan around activities and events that you and your family are most interested in.  As you go about your day, check and recheck that schedule.

Have the Daily Schedule Handy

Doing this helped us realize that there was a “stick horse” rodeo for kids! Georgia had so much fun dressing up, and pretending to ride a bronco.  We got to cheer her on as we devoured funnel cake, and I know it will remain as a very sweet family memory. She even received a ribbon, and got to keep the special stock show bandanna that each contestant wore!

Don’t be Afraid to Just Wander

Taking some time to just meander around the various stalls of horses or cattle gives you more of a chance to interact with owners, riders, and exhibitors.  You never know what you might learn, experience, or see, so take your time, and be open! See my highlight to read about our special experience!

National Western Stock Show: Family Highlights

Slaed/Dad: Catwalks

Slaed loved the bird’s eye view that was possible by walking above the outside stockyards.  Yes, it’s chilly out there, but the vantage point is so unique, and bonus, there’s amazing mountain views too!  This also a good time to mention: Dress in layers!  Please note that due to some major changes to the shock show grounds, the stockyard area is moving, and may not be constructed/organized in the same way. 

Kate/Mom: Washing William

My highlight happened when we were wandering around the horse stalls, hence my tip above! The kids were saying hi to the various horses hanging out as they waited for their events.  As we passed by a washing station, a very kind rider, poked her head out and asked us if we’d like to help her wash her horse!

It was hard to contain my excitement, but yes of course, the kids went right in, and started helping her.  The soap she used just happened to be purple too, Georgia’s favorite color! Could this day get any better for her? We learned that her horse William needed to get all shined up for the Grand Prix that evening.  The kids got pretty wet scrubbing his legs and tail, but that soon dried just leaving us with this lasting sweet and amazing memory.

Bergen (7-year old boy): Xtreme Dogs

From reading my tip above, you know that we recommend choosing one “extra” ticketed event to attend as a family.  Our ticketed event was the Xtreme Dogs, which is a choreographed show with dogs doing tricks, aerial stunts, and even a little comedy.  The whole family enjoyed the show, but it was Bergen who absolutely loved it.

The announcers were very engaging and got the crowd involved in cheering. With him being a very competitive person, the way the tricks and stunts were organized (always trying to do better and better) was right up his alley.   There was even live sheep herding, which I thought was a really neat tie-in to the stock show atmosphere.

Georgia (4-year old girl): Pony Ride

As we were preparing the kids for what to expect from the stock show, and telling them about all the events, and activities, Georgia kept reminding us: “I want to ride a horse!”

We made sure to make this happen right away, so after a quick visit to the petting zoo when we first arrived, we headed right to the pony rides! The rides are typical of what you’d find at a carnival or small amusement park with the ponies lined up together walking in a circle.  From the time she climbed aboard and the time she hopped off, Georgia could not stop smiling.  She was so proud of herself, and just so happy to be riding a real live horse!

I have video footage of each of our National Western Stock Show highlights, so you can see the fun in action! To view, head to our instagram stories.

Have you been to a stock show? Do your kids enjoy county or state fair activities? Tell us about some of your favorite experiences! We’d love to chat more in the comments.

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