Texas is the place to be or be from in the rodeo world. Just look at a daysheet from the Cody Stampede and you’ll see how many of the cowboys and cowgirls hail from Texas. 

A bunch more have moved there to be able to pursue their rodeo goals year-round. 

That’s understandable, but it shouldn’t hide the fact that Park County is also home to some great rodeo talent. 

And it’s not like Cody is known as the Rodeo Capital of the World for nothing.

The Cody Stampede Rodeo took over Cody last week, and boy was it quite the show when I attended Tuesday night. 

Weaving crowds of happy faces makes you appreciate living in this region, as does strolling through Cody this time of year and seeing people from all over making a special trip to our little neck of the woods. 

But I digress. What we have in this area is talent, and not just greats from past years such as former Powell bull rider Kanin Asay. At the CNFR two Powell High School grads took part, and while Dodge City Community College star Kyle Cheney wasn't able to cover a bull, Central Wyoming College cowboy Caden Gines had a solid showing, as did Northwest College bull rider Chris Staley. 

Those three may be striving toward the goal of making it as Powell grad Brody Wells has done. Wells came into the rodeo grounds July 1 cheered on by a huge crowd in the grandstands.

Clearly, a lot of locals grabbed seats to the region’s premier rodeo event to cheer on a hometown cowboy. 

It helped that Wells lived up to the billing with his round one winning ride. While he wound up finishing fourth after the other night’s riders had a say, he remains a top 10 saddle bronc rider in the country, quite an accomplishment for the kid who grew up in Wapiti and Powell. 

Watching all this action and prepared to intervene to save roughstock riders is yet another Park County resident who also happens to be not just one of the, but the greatest bullfighter of all time: Meeteetse’s Dusty Tuckness. 

So it’s not just Cody. I’d say Park County is quite the hotbed of rodeo talent.