The Beaches of Cheyenne: Muddy Conditions Don’t Hinder Steer Wrestlers Success

The Beaches of Cheyenne brought success to Winston McGraw in the long round after his 6.1 second run wins the first set of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Bull Dogging competition.

McGraw and Swamper /

A heavy rainstorm the evening before the slack Tuesday morning added another challenge to an already difficult set up in the steer wrestling. With the extra long hand-pulled barrier, fresher cattle, and difficult set up, steer wrestling is a fan favorite event in the Cheyenne Frontier Days PRCA Rodeo. Wyoming's "Daddy of 'Em All" is a "must attend" rodeo on every cowboy and cowgirl's checklist and undoubtably a rodeo every contestant would love to win that iconic gold buckle and put their name up with the past CFD Champions.

Though there was standing water in the arena and sloppy mud right in the path of the bulldoggers that did not detour them from jumping right into it to throw their steers. Fast times were set early in the long round, which started at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Winsten McGraw was later in the set and was able to watch a majority of the other contestants run their steers. When McGraw saw what his steer’s ear tag read, he knew he had a good chance. Last weekend they had won the Albany County Fair, in Laramie, WY, on the steer he drew. "I knew he was going to start good and was great on the ground," Winsten explained.

McGraw went on to say, "I was riding my horse Swamper (Off The Fence) and my traveling partner Clayton Hass was hazing on his horse Lucky." McGraw bought Swamper in the winter last year from Blake Knowles after he decided to retire. The bay gelding was on the track then started as a steer wrestling horse by Knowles. Swamper has a big personality and quite possibly has McGraw right where he wants him, as he is very spoiled. However the dependable horse earns every pat and cookie he recieves.

"Swamper loves his Re-Vita EQ Gastro Snacks, to be loved on, and of course to run fast and win with anyone on him," McGraw said.

McGraw took advantage of his draw and laid down a run in 6.1 seconds to win the long round by 4 tenths and added $4,102.28 next to his name in the standings. The cowboy has goals to get his name in the top 25 by the end of July and this was a great start to achieving that goal.

He also wants to obtain a second Mountain States Circuit Finals qualification with the goal of winning the finals. The 23-year-old cowboy resides in Gill, Co and has been a PRCA member since 2020.

Steer Wrestlers tend to travel in packs and McGraw’s rig can call this rodeo a successful stop on their rodeo trail. McGraw and traveling partners Clayton Hass, Walt Arnold, and Will Lummis have been rodeoing hard this summer and have little to no down time during July and August.

Arnold made the performance rounds with his 7.8 second run placing him 11th out of over 100 contestants. McGraw's hazer, Clayton, threw his steer in 11 seconds flat to advance as well.

Will Lummis had less success in the long round as his traveling partners, however he ran a second steer in the Wild Card Round in 6.0 seconds pocketing $3,223.22 and getting a shot to come back in the performances alongside the rest of his rig. The cowboys quickly loaded up their rig after they finished competing to get to Salt Lake City so they can run their steers early the next morning. Full Results Here.

McGraw has clawed his way into pro rodeo from the ripe age of 13. He began Chute Dogging in the NJHRA, and later moved to steer wrestling during high school. Now he is winning at the big shows like the Daddy of Em' All and making his childhood dreams a reality.

The Colorado cowboy said he could not do it without the support from his wife Brenna and one year old son Mock. McGraw also has some outstanding sponsors helping him reach his rodeo goals; Cedar Gap Wealth Management, Preferred Cartage Services Inc., and The Monument Lake and Resort all have supported him in his travels.

McGraw will return to the ‘Daddy’ Monday July 22 to run a second steer during the 1p.m. performance. He has set himself up for a chance at a big paycheck and one of the biggest rodeo wins of his career thus far. No doubt drawing a good steer and riding a great horse are an advantage in Cheyenne at Frontier Days, but seizing the opportunity as McGraw did Tuesday morning shows the physical and mental attributes a cowboy must obtain to win big in the dirt arena.