CHEYENNE — People die, and sometimes their traditions fall away with them.
In the case of Cheyenne’s beloved Santa Go Pokes Christmas decoration, the lighted Santa riding a bucking Wyoming bronc will continue to illuminate the starry December nights.
Thousands of people in rodeo-loving Cheyenne come out to see the lighted decoration at 7111 Legacy Parkway each year, which was proudly owned by the late Mary Meyer, who died earlier this year.
Meyer took particular pride in the holiday decoration, which she felt helped spread neighborhood cheer across Wyoming’s capital city.
Her sons, Vince and Warren Meyer, have decided that the tradition must continue.
“We made it a priority to get it up in front of mom’s on Thanksgiving weekend, just like we have before,” Vince Meyer told Cowboy State Daily. “Because we know, and we’ve even heard a couple of people wondering about it. We’re committed to ... we want it to remain a fixture in Cheyenne.”
The decoration lights up every night starting at 4:15 p.m. and stays lit until midnight. That will continue through Jan. 1, as in past years.
“We will see what happens next year,” Meyer said. “But we, like mom has said, think of ourselves as a steward of it. It’s beloved, and we’ve done the upkeep for it. We want it to remain something people can enjoy.”
Next year’s plan is yet to be determined, Meyer said, but whatever the outcome, he’s confident it will include continuing this 25-year tradition for decades to come.
“This was gifted to us, and our family has always looked at it as we’re just stewards of something fun to share,” Vince said. “So, I’d like to look for someone — a family friend or a good steward in Cheyenne — to find somewhere it can be enjoyed like it is.”
For The Love Of Christmas
Meyer particularly loved Christmas and often decorated for the holiday season.
Some years, she put out more decorations than others, but no matter how many or how few, the one that had to be displayed every year was Santa Claus on the Wyoming bucking bronc.
“I’ve had people stop by if we don’t get it up early enough,” Meyer told Cowboy State Daily in a 2023 interview. “It’s mostly people I know asking, ‘When will you get that Santa horse up there?’ (People) love driving by and looking at it.”
Some love it so much, they’ve even asked Meyer why she didn't put it up during Cheyenne Frontier Days.
“They see the bucking horse and don’t even look close enough to say, ‘Wait a minute, that’s Santa,’” Meyer said.
While Meyer never put the decoration out for Cheyenne Frontier Days, she did leave it out an extra-long time when incoming Gov. Mark Gordon asked her to so that his family could all see it.
“That just tells you this is something people really do love,” she said. “We all love our horse and all of us say, ‘I do more than you.’ Well, it’s true. Everyone loves it more than anybody else.”
The construction of the decoration is quite sturdy, making it impossible to separate Santa from the bucking horse. In fact, vandals tried one year but were foiled.
“There was only one set of footprints in the snow,” Meyer said. “And they bent it, so they must have had some pliers or, I don’t know, it had to be something heavy.”
A welding company repaired the damage and no one has bothered it since.
Having so many people come by to see Santa Go Pokes always made Meyer feel better during the holidays.
She loved to watch the cars coming around the corner, then slowing down as they saw the bucking horse all lit up or, in some cases, doing an actual U-turn to come back for a second look.
It’s part of how she knew she was helping spread the Christmas spirit of faith, hope and love all around.
Vince often joined her in that activity and liked it just as much.
“One of mom’s favorite things was just being able to look outside and see the number of people who would stop in front of the house or go through the cul-de-sac,” Vince said. “And that’s something I enjoyed doing with her, too, and I just want that to continue.”
What’s In A Name?
At first, the family was going to call their lighted Santa on a bucking horse "Claus Christmas." But as fate would have it, there was a much better name for the decoration.
It came from the son of one of Vince's coworkers whose family had made it a Christmas tradition to drive by at least once every year.
When the family was late getting that done one year, the young man informed his parents it was past time for a hot chocolate-laden journey to see the Santa Go Pokes decoration.
Vince told his parents about that, and everyone in the family agreed it was adorable. No other name for the decoration was possible after that. It’s been known as Santa Go Pokes since.
“That was a neighborhood kid at the time, and I’m sure he’s an adult now,” Vince said.
No one is sure anymore where that person is, or whether he remembers naming Cheyenne’s legendary bucking horse Christmas decoration. But he’s nonetheless part of helping to build a legend, one that Vince and his brother Warren hope will continue.
“It’s representative of the state, but also of friendship,” Warren said. “And also of my parents and the legacy that they carried on having that.
"It’s just such a cool, unique thing, and it’s just comforting to know that it’s still out there and people can still enjoy it.”
Nothing Else Like It
The bucking horse Christmas decoration is one of a kind.
Part of that is because Wyoming has trademarked its bucking horse and people who want to use it must gain permission and pay a fee to do so.
The family acquired the decoration from the late Brooks Mitchell, who was a business professor at the University of Wyoming.
He had moved to Colorado and was storing the decoration in a shed, fearing that if he put it out in University of Wyoming rival Colorado State University’s territory, it might disappear or get vandalized.
Because he didn’t dare show such a clearly Pokes-oriented decoration in rival territory, he offered it to the Meyers after Mary asked about it, believing the family would take good care of it and ensure lots of people could enjoy it.
Mitchell couldn’t have known then just how right he really was.
Not only did the Meyers take good care of the decoration for the last 25 years, now a new generation is stepping up to continue the Santa Go Pokes Christmas legend in Cheyenne, for the sake of thousands who have made this visual treat part of their own holiday traditions.
The importance of tradition is sometimes hard to put into words, but as the character Tevye said in the musical "Fiddler on the Roof," without our traditions, our lives become as shaky as the fiddler on the roof.
Tevye understood that a beautiful tradition can be a true gift in an ever-changing world. It’s something people can count on, in a world where there are often so few things to count on.
“People in Cheyenne have grown to love this because it’s so unique, and it’s so big,” Vince said. “And we enjoy … the responsibility of getting that (out) every year and making it visible so that people can enjoy it.
"It’s just something else in Cheyenne that makes us unique and we can share that Christmas spirit that combines both Christmas and go WYO.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
