Country Living

40th Anniversary of the Cowboy Downhill at Steamboat Ski Resort

Both past and present ProRodeo Champions compete on a dual race course, for the Stampede Ski Jump and Timed Event consisting of a Rope and Saddle Ski Rodeo.

by
Aaron Kuhl
February 21, 2014

When the world of rodeo meets skiing and snowboarding, it brews up an indescribable excitement that stimulates the mind, body and soul—quenching one’s thirst for an adrenaline-packed adventure like no other. Certainly, a ski rodeo of this caliber including the biggest names in rodeo could only be referring to the Cowboy Downhill in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

“It all began 40 years ago, when Billy Kidd, Steamboat’s Director of Skiing, and Larry Mahan, six-time All-Around World Champion cowboy decided to invite a few of the ProRodeo stars to Steamboat for a day of skiing. The cowboys had such a great time that the Downhill has become the most popular event of the season with over 100 of the best professional rodeo cowboys competing in the most unique ski rodeo in the country.” –Steamboat

Larry Mahan and Billy Kidd at Cowboy Downhill

The 40th Annual Bud Light Cowboy Downhill at Steamboat Ski Resort was a complete success this year and Cowboy Lifestyle Network was there to capture all the action. With sunny skies, gorgeous weather, perfect snow conditions, chaps and cowboy hats, what more can you ask for?

This is an amazing one-of-a-kind event for the whole family to enjoy. Yet, for those who compete in the Cowboy Downhill event, there is still a large amount of risk involved on the mountain as there is in the rodeo arena. Besides, not just any ol’ cowboy can enter and compete in the downhill races.

Ted Stovin from Everything Cowboy (Top Left), Olympic Silver Medalist, Billy Kidd, All-Around World Champion Rodeo Cowboy, Larry Mahan (Top Right), PRCA Commissioner, Karl Stressman (Bottom Left) along with Wrangler’s Jeff Chadwick and CLN’s Aaron Kuhl (Bottom Right)

As a matter of fact, CLN even got some great snowboarding and skiing in with a Steamboat Springs local and long time friend, Wrangler’s Jeff Chadwick. To kick off the event, cowboys and cowgirls, snowboarders and skiers, reunited for the “Cowboy Up” party at the Bear River Bar & Grill. Meanwhile, CLN quickly made friends with cowboys from Canada, including William Stovin AKA “Ted” of Everything Cowboy. The day of the Cowboy Downhill event included a Cowboy VIP BBQ, Cowboy Downhill Timed Slalom Event and Stampede sponsored by Bud Light, Coca-Cola, KBCR Radio, GoPro, Steamboat Motors, and Wrangler Western Specialty Apparel.

Afterwards, there was a free concert in the Gondola Square. As the sun set behind the Steamboat Springs mountains, anyone with a VIP pass made their way up to the Top of the Gondola for the 40th Anniversary Cowboy Downhill Gala and live music from the band Banks & Shane. Some of the most well respected people in the industry attended the Gala, including PRCA commissioner, Karl Stressman. Even the legendary American Sportscaster for CBS Sports, Verne Lundquist, was in attendance. The night was filled with an exciting awards ceremony, amazing food, drinks and country dancing.

What do you get if you win? This year the Cowboy Downhill “Timed Slalom Event Winner” and the “Stampede Winner” won two airline tickets for domestic US travel and the latest GoPro cameras. In fact, Cowboy Lifestyle Network used GoPro’s Hero 3+ Black Edition to shoot the majority of this feature CLN video of Cowboy Downhill.
Even the “Best Wreck” and “Top Ten Finishers” received an assortment of prizes. This year it was and Bareback Rider Evan Jayne who was the Stampede Winner.

Evan Jayne, the native from Marseille, France has been the Stampede Winner 2 years in a row and even placed 3rd in the timed event this year.

Bareback Rider Evan Jayne takes the Gold in the Stampede and Bronze in the Timed Event with a time of 28.22 seconds

If any cowboys are looking to compete in next year’s Cowboy Downhill race, remember that you will need to be entered as either a PBR or PRCA contestant in Denver at the NWSS Stock Show. In addition, there is an entry fee of $125, which includes: Lodging Sunday/Monday nights at The Lodge, two-day lift ticket vouchers, two-day ski or snowboard rentals, VIP pass for all events, and a special edition Wrangler jacket.
Without futher adeau, here are your 2014 Cowboy Downhill winners (Top Ten Finishers & Best Wreck):

Contestant	Rodeo Event	Resides In	PRCA Profile Picture
1. Rorey Maier Time: 27.57	Bull Riding	Timber Lake, SD
2. Mark Bennett 3rd time getting “2nd Place” four years in-a-row	Bull Fighter	Houston, TX
3. Evan Jayne Time: 28.22	Bareback Riding	Huntsville, TX
4. Jake Griffin Time: 28.24	Saddle Bronc Riding	Daniel, WY
5. Zach Curran	Bareback Riding	Arvada, CO
6. Todd Hampton	Team Roping	Chowchilla, CA
7. Joel Schlegel	PRCA	Burns, CO
8. Jerad Schlegel	Bareback Riding	Burns, CO
9. Clint Cannon aka “GOOSE”	Bareback Riding	Waller, TX
10. Sterling Crawley	Saddle Bronc Riding	College Station, TX
Dustin Davis Winner of “Best Crash”	Team Roping (Heading)	Ravenna, TX

If you want to hear more music from DIIR, as featured on this Cowboy Lifestyle video, you can download it here: https://soundcloud.com/diir.

Thanks for tuning into Cowboy Lifestyle Network and don’t forget to Click on’ and Hang on!

Aaron Kuhl

Hello, my name is Aaron Kuhl. I am an Arizona native from Tempe, Arizona. The Western way of life has been rooted in my foundation since day one, with my Mother working for Wrangler Western for over 30+ years growing up. I am proud to have been a part of Cowboy Lifestyle Network since the beginning days of the company after graduating from The University of Arizona. My Faith, Family & Friends are my whole world, and I am very blessed to live the life I live in the land of the free, the United States of America.