Patrick Gottsch had a passion for the Western way of life and one of the pinnacles of that way of life is the Daddy of ‘Em All, the Cheyenne Frontier Days. This iconic rodeo was to special to Patrick because it was the first rodeo to be broadcast on The Cowboy Channel in 2019.
“We’ve been thinking a lot this week about that very first rodeo and having Patrick here and how things have really progressed. Gosh, he was just an incredible person. What he did for rodeo, kicking down those doors and putting rodeo on TV, I’m not sure anybody else would’ve ever done that,” Cheyenne Frontier Days CEO Tom Hirsig said.
In true Patrick Gottsch fashion, he took a chance on rodeo and attempted to level it up to the likes of mainstream sports. He surpassed mainstream those sports in 2020, when rodeo was the only sport still going during the pandemic. When Hirsig looks back at that year, he remembers Patrick’s no quit mentality was a savior for rodeo and the western way of life.
Cheyenne Frontier Days also held special significance for Patrick for his role as Grand Marshal of the parade.
“I remember calling Patrick and asking him if he’d be the Grand Marshal of our parade and he was almost in tears over it, Hirsig said. “He was so proud of the fact that he got to be in the parade because the parade signifies and really symbolizes the Western way of life and history of the American West and he just felt so proud to be a part of that.”
Hirsig says what will stick with him most is Patrick’s never die attitude, and the way he would stick to his guns instead of packing it in when times got tough.
As we near 100 Rodeos in 100 Days, we can look forward to a fantastic tribute to Patrick at the one and only Cheyenne Frontier Days.