CHEYENNE — After what will be a 13-year tenure as president and CEO of Cheyenne Frontier Days, Tom Hirsig has announced that he’s stepping down from the role after the 2027 Daddy of ’em All.
Hirsig was not giving interviews about his resignation after it was announced Thursday by the CFD Board of Directors, which also did not give a reason for his resignation.
Tad Herz, chairman of the Cheyenne Frontier Days board, said that Hirsig’s tenure has left an “indelible mark” on the organization and that the search for a new leader would begin immediately.
“He’s not leaving at any prompting from anybody,” Herz told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s his decision. It’s his choice to do something different. There’s no discontent with him at all.”
Herz expects Hirsig will continue to be part of Cheyenne Frontier Days in the future, and said Hirsig has agreed to stay through 2027 while the CFD board begins a national search for a replacement.
“We are retaining a search firm for the process to find the best candidate,” Herz said. “I am committed to absolutely having the best possible candidate we can find for this job.
“I want to make sure they fit with our precious heritage and culture of the show, the city and the state.”
Deep Roots At Frontier Park
Few leaders embody the spirit of the Daddy of ‘em All as deeply as Hirsig, the board said in its announcement. His family ties to the iconic event stretch back to its inception.
His great-great-uncles, Charlie and Fred Hirsig, were among the original co-founders of the rodeo when it debuted in 1897.
Hirsig grew up in the dirt of Frontier Park, participating first as a contestant and later transitioning into a pivotal volunteer role as the rodeo’s arena director. After a brief period away, Hirsig returned to serve on the organization’s volunteer board of directors.
The board hired Hirsig full-time as president and CEO, a position he officially assumed on Jan. 1, 2015.
‘Timely But Timeless’ Growth
Under Hirsig’s executive management, Cheyenne Frontier Days has modernized rapidly, Herz said, evolving its 10-day footprint into a powerhouse event.
“Where do I start?” he said about Hirsig’s impact on CFD. “He’s done so much. I have 25 individual achievements in my notes.”
Hirsig has also steered the world’s largest outdoor rodeo through some of its most fragile historic chapters, including the devastating 2020 cancellation brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic — the first operational halt in the event’s 124-year history.
Most recently, Hirsig oversaw the redesign of Chute 9 as well as construction of the new Morning Star Village.
“Nine of the top 10 years for total ticket sales, spanning the 130-year history of Frontier Days, have been under his leadership,” Herz said. “There’s the Master Use Land Plan that really came out in 2015 and was updated for ’26, and he’s helped develop and really implement our Trail Guide to the Future, another document that’s helped us.”
The event center, which Herz said has been transformational for the park, was also under his watch.
“The Xtreme Bulls event, which is kind of the first of its kind, allowing the contestants to have PRCA points for that event is something he did,” Herz said. “We expanded to 10 days of rodeo under his leadership, which I also think has been a key and one of the top things we’ve done.”
Through it all, Herz added, Hirsig has maintained high customer experience ratings.
“I think we had like a 92% customer experience a few years back,” Herz said. “And when you think about a 130-year-old celebration that still has over 90% customer approval … that’s pretty darn good, and I think it runs to his commitment to keep the show timely but timeless.”
Eliminating Slack
Hirsig’s final years at the helm have not been without controversy.
This summer, CFD leadership faced fierce public blowback after deciding to eliminate its traditional “slack” qualifying rounds.
The move capped the entry pool to 72 invited athletes per event, a fundamental change to the CFD’s historic rodeo that drew criticism from competitors.
Hirsig has publicly defended the policy shift, pointing to staggering livestock and cattle costs, parking gridlock, and volunteer fatigue.
Hirsig told Cowboy State Daily in July that he understands eliminating slack competition is a huge change for the 130-year-old rodeo, but the rodeo had simply outgrown its ability to handle the hundreds of slack riders.
“People are upset they’re not able to come,” he said. “But we simply have no room for those big rigs anymore.”
He also mentioned that rodeos have to absorb stock charges without help from contestants. The cost of fresh cattle today is sky-high and can’t be recaptured.
It’s a price that’s multiplied for every additional bovine chased down Cheyenne’s long arena.
And The PBR
Hirsig also managed a high-profile, abrupt parting of the ways with the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit ahead of the 2025 season, which shocked some fans and reshaped the event’s premier evening lineups.
Herz said public criticism did not drive Hirsig’s decision to step down.
“He’s not considering that at all,” Herz said. “Obviously, any kind of CEO role for any kind of event, you’re going to have criticisms, and Frontier Days is no exception to that.
"I think he’s done a very good job of handling those, and I think he continues to do it.”
Herz has had a bird’s-eye view of that as chairman of the board, he said.
“I have been going through that journey with him the last four years,” he said. “And it’s just part of the situation. Every CEO has to endure ramifications from choices and decisions.
"Tom’s not afraid to make decisions and that’s been good for the show.”
Herz said the decisions were informed choices.
“If you look at how we’ve grown, and nine out of the top 10 years of ticket sales have been under his leadership,” Herz said. “Getting back to that metric, he’d done a great job of growing the show.
"I would say he’s been beyond good. He’s been transformational. He’s transformed the show into something that’s much bigger and better for our community."
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
