Cheyenne officials have been coy about where the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's proposed new headquarters and museum would be, but the secret is out now.
Cheyenne LEADS, the city’s economic development organization, prominently displayed the location during a legislative reception Tuesday night, where PRCA CEO Tom Glause spoke publicly for the first time about his vision for the PRCA’s future in Wyoming.
The LEADS map showed the future site of PRCA’s headquarters and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy, in a new development that’s being called the Hitching Post Business District.
The site is just north of the Horse Palace Swan Ranch and just south of the Little America Hotel and Resort.
The PRCA’s 35-acre section is one of 13 lots shown in the overall development, suggesting an overall vision that is larger than just creating a new campus for the PRCA headquarters and its associated Hall of Fame and Museum. The names of the roadways winding through the development are Eight Second Loop and Western Heritage Drive.
PRCA Hall of Famer Bobby Harris, who is a world champion team roper and a member of Wyoming’s professional rodeo team, Team Wyoming, told Cowboy State Daily ahead of Glause’s remarks that he sees the PRCA move as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the state.
“We’re the Cowboy State,” he said. “It doesn’t fit anywhere any better than (here). It’s really important to be part of it, to get this done. If they’re going somewhere, we want them here.”
But it’s not just important for Wyoming. Harris also believes Wyoming offers a strong foundation for the future of rodeo itself, with all of its colleges helping to train up the next generation of pro rodeo athletes. That’s a commitment few states can claim.
“This is a step for all of us as we go forward,” Harris later told the crowd when he was introducing Glause. “This is something with our names on it that’s a legacy. And that’s what we’re doing with the Hall of Fame. When it comes to this town right here, it comes to Wyoming. We have a cowboy on our flag. We have a cowboy at the university. Everything we do is cowboy.”
Harris has personally seen how much people love to come to Wyoming to buy cowboy hats and head to the rodeos. That’s a love he believes can be carried home with them, into a wider world that is not always friendly to rodeo.
“Tom Glause has a vision,” Harris told the crowd of legislators, state officials, and rodeo champions. “And I’m very proud to be part of anything that he does because he’s trying to go forward and that’s what we’re trying to do here."
Wyoming Roots
Glause told the gathered crowd of state legislators and rodeo community members that while he grew up in the Sandhills of Nebraska, he considers his roots to be Wyoming.
He moved to Wyoming as soon as he graduated from high school, earning a rodeo scholarship to attend Casper College.
“Rodeo has always been an important and an integral part of my life,” he said. “Everything that I have, everything that I will be, I owe to rodeo.”
Glause eventually transferred to the University of Wyoming, where he was on the rodeo team alongside Cheyenne Frontier Days CEO Tom Hirsig.
“Bobby was at Torrington at the time,” Glause added. “And we all grew up together, but rodeo is what allowed us to pursue our education. Because of that, I was able to attend law school at the University of Wyoming, and graduate with a degree in law.”
Glause spent years as a prosecutor in Newcastle, before opening up a private practice in Southwest Wyoming. He was also a municipal court judge in Rock Springs, after which then Gov. Matt Mead appointed him first to the State Board of Equalization and then named him Wyoming Insurance Commissioner.
Gov. Mark Gordon reappointed Glause as insurance commissioner during his first term, after which Glause went to work for the PRCA.
“Through all of that, rodeo ran deep in my heart," he said. “I rodeoed, my son rodeoed. I was on the Mountain States Circuit board. I was president of the Mountain State Circuit board. I was on Cheyenne Frontier Days. So even though I’ve worn many different hats, rodeo has always been a constant in my life.”
Moving to Cheyenne is a thrilling opportunity for the PRCA, Glause said.
“We’ve had a storied history, but the vision of the PRCA and the values of the PRCA align with Wyoming,” he said. “You couldn’t find an entity and an organization that the values align so well. When we talk about the PRCA, I could very well be talking about the state of Wyoming. We’re proud of our contestants. We stand for family, faith, and country. We praise the military. We open every rodeo with a prayer.
“We’re the epitome of hard work, determination, resilience and grit,” he continued. “We do whatever it takes to get it done.”
The PRCA today sanctions more than 800 rodeos throughout the United States and Canada, and has paid out more than $80 million in prize money, culminating with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo that was held this past September in Las Vegas.
Homecoming
Chadron Hockley, fiancée of saddle bronc rider Beau Scarborough, was among those in the audience listening to the plans and feeling excited for the future.
She told Cowboy State Daily she sees the PRCA move as something of a family reunion.
“In my opinion, the PRCA’s real home has always been Wyoming in the first place,” she said. “For me, growing up in a lifestyle that revolves around living with a professional rodeo athlete, watching him and traveling with him and seeing what the capabilities of the PRCA can bring for our lives, let alone other people within Cheyenne — this is going to give us jobs. It’s going to help our housing market. And the demand for Cheyenne is just going to continue to grow. Overall, it’s such an amazing opportunity for us to be able to consider Wyoming, the real, true Cowboy State.”
Glause’s son, Seth, was also in the audience, representing both the University of Wyoming’s rodeo team and as a Team Wyoming member.
“This a really new opportunity for the state of Wyoming, the city of Cheyenne, and the PRCA,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It all kind of fits together with the same culture, same values that Wyoming has and Wyoming embodies. So, I’m excited for the opportunity, excited to talk about rodeo and see where this goes.”
The PRCA is the best in the world at rodeo production and support, Team Wyoming’s Chet Johnson added, and having it come to Wyoming will just put everything that it has on a firm footing.
“The whole state has been behind rodeo as long as I’ve been here,” Johnson said. “I mean they have their own rodeo team of professional rodeo cowboys. Talk about an extension of that. It shows how much passion the state has, as a whole, for our sport, and it just takes it up to that upper echelon.”
Tuckness Thumbs Up
Meeteetse’s Dusty Tuckness, one of the most decorated rodeo professionals in history and 10-time PRCA Bullfighter of the Year, was also in the audience. The Team Wyoming member told Cowboy State Daily he’s only become more excited about the project since learning of the plans involved.
“This isn’t just moving a building and hoping you can find it when you cross I-25, this is going to be another mainstay,” he said. “It’s going to be a destination no different than CFD itself. People come for those 10, 12 days for rodeo, not just one night, not just for the rodeo, but for the experience. And this is going to add to that, but it will also bring more attention in the spring and the winter months with everything they want to put together.”
Wyoming is already a destination for millions with Devils Tower, Yellowstone National Park, Bighorn Basin, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum, he added.
“Being able to showcase something that’s near and dear to our hearts, the rodeo lifestyle, the legacy of the heroes that came before us, the Hall of Famers to the future Hall of Famers,” he said. “To be able to showcase that to so many more people and different audiences as they travel through Wyoming … and bringing something that’s near and dear to our heart, the PRCA headquarters and Hall of Fame to the Cowboy State, it’s just a better fit.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
