NWSS RETURNS IN 2022: Western heritage event boasts record-breaking sale and unveils new infrastructure

Denver – The National Western Stock Show (NWSS)  returned to Denver this Jan. 8-23. The 16-day event is host to one of the world’s most renowned livestock shows, horse shows and regular season professional rodeos, as well as the prestigious Coors Western Art Show, family and educational events and Colorado’s largest western trade show. 

“The 2022 Stock Show hosted 586,756 visitors over the 16 days,” shared a NWSS news release. “The show faced several challenged and was down about 18 percent overall from previous record-breaking years, pre-pandemic.”

NWSS President and CEO Paul Andrews, a Wyoming native, shared, “We have been fortunate to see record-breaking attendance year after year, prior to the pandemic. Today, we are grateful to have hosted this epic event. We are blown away by the support and outreach from the nearly 600,000 guests who came back to celebrate the western lifestyle that is important to so many.”

There were many changes to the 2022 NWSS compared to years’ past, including the addition of new facilities in phased construction. These additions include: the Legacy Building, which will serve as the NWSS headquarters; the Sue Anschutz-Rogers Livestock Center, to serve as the hub of all livestock activities and provide multi-use indoor and outdoor facilities year-round; the Cille and Ron Williams Yards, which transformed the stock yard space to permanent pens; and the Equestrian Center, which will be one of the nation’s premier centers for year-round horse shows and events. 

A major focus of the NWSS is providing college and graduate-level scholarships to students in Colorado and Wyoming in the fields of agricultural science, agricultural business and rural medicine. These funds, housed under the National Western Scholarship Trust, provided support to 110 students to further their education. 

Following several weeks of livestock shows, the 2022 Auction of Junior Livestock Champions sold champions shown during junior livestock shows. Sales of the top eight champion animals totaled $519,000. The Grand Champion Steer sold for a record-high $160,000 to Ames Construction Company; the Reserve Grand Champion Hog sold for $50,000 to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, breaking the previous record by $14,000; and the Grand Champion Goat set a record sale of $44,000 to Babson Farms. The sale of the all 96 animals sold tallied $1,189,500, which beat the record set in 2020 by $110,000. 

Averi Hales is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.