It was bittersweet this year – after 15 years of organizing the Denver Rustlers – to hand over the reins. Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed me in January to a four-year term on the Public Utilities Commission. Much as I wanted to keep being head wrangler for the Denver Rustlers, it was just not appropriate to fundraise, even for the kids at the Junior Livestock Sale – especially from entities the PUC regulates. So how did this unlikely partnership for the last 15 years between me, a really liberal Democratic woman from Pueblo, and Larry Mizel, one of the Denver Rustlers’ founding organizers and a rather conservative Republican businessman, work? Really well, because we always focused on the kids, we each had a good sense of humor, loved competition and we learned from each other. Larry’s question every year was: how can we beat last year’s numbers? And if that meant more Democrats or better and more efficient ways to run the Rustlers, he was all in.

In the last 15 years, the Denver Rustlers has gone from mailing 600 hundred hard copy invitations to sending out electronic invitations. The foray into 21st century recruiting techniques worked. Rather than 60 people on the plane, we now have over 200 Rustlers who fill three buses. Rustlers used to arrive with a bag of checks and cash and hand it over to the State Fair. Larry would brag on the plane ride back, that the Denver Rustlers had no overhead and did not even have a checking account – certainly quite a feat. But once Larry understood it was easier to collect the registration fees with the resulting more registrations, we opened up a bank account (free with First Bank, one of our sponsors) that allowed the Denver Rustlers to accept credit card payments.

The Denver Rustlers started off as Denver-centric. The Rustlers now boasts statewide membership up and down the Front Range and the Western Slope. We still have the silver-headed “mature” members, but we also have younger folks paying and attending. We started off almost exclusively male and white and we now have many women and minorities who are proud to put on the shirt and call themselves a Rustler. We started off with Larry buying new shirts every year – from the tastefully conservative blue oxfords, to the garish plaid, to the pink to the rather toasty heavy Denim shirts – not a great idea when it is 99 degrees in Pueblo. As we were all sweating that year, Larry turned over the shirt buying to me, Steve Weill from Rockmount Ranch Wear gave us a great price on their vintage shirts and we use them every year. I think Larry did not see the photo of the shirt that I sent him before we submitted the order, because he was a bit concerned when his shirt arrived and called me. He was not persuaded when I told him that only real men would wear these shirts.  Once I told him he was on the hook for 200 shirts, and that it would cost a lot to reorder especially on an expedited basis, he reluctantly said in his almost southern Oklahoma drawl -“Well OK, Frances, but just for this year.” Ten years later, the Denver Rustlers now has its brand which is that shirt. If you wear that shirt anyplace, people come up and congratulate you for being a Denver Rustler and the group has more money to spend at the sale.

Speaking of more money to spend – Larry has always understood the goal is to get money from the sale to all of those great kids, and to make sure a lot of kids enjoy the benefit of the Rustlers’ presence at the fair. The Denver Rustlers used to buy the Grand Champion Steer every other year. When the price of the steer climbed to over $50,000, Larry pulled his buying group back and now they buy the reserve Grand Champion for $25,000, and spend the rest of the money on the other exhibitors.

There was the year when Terry McAuliffe attended and there is that great picture of Larry putting his hands up so that there was no political photo of him and Terry. There was the year when Larry invited Gov. Scott Walker, and I bought a black hat for the Wisconsin governor. There was the year that the upstart Colorado Spring Posse (in black shirts, now turquoise because black is really hot in Pueblo in August) refused to move their bus, almost empty, from the head of the line at the rest stop until I asked the Sheriff to shoot one of them in the leg.

Every year, I am amazed at the number of very busy (and important people) who commit to spending the day in Pueblo. There were times when I swore I would never do it again and or considered doing something especially outrageous so that Larry would “fire” me. (It is hard to fire someone who is not getting paid.)  But every year, the Denver Rustlers pull together to raise money for these young men and women who worked all year to raise and care for their animals, hoping they will get one of the coveted spots to sell their animal at the fair and bank money for their college education. Every year we have more Denver Rustlers and more money to spend. Every year, I get to showcase my hometown of Pueblo to the 200 plus Denver Rustlers. Every year, the Denver Rustlers is the summer event to attend, because we all come together, put aside our differences and take the high road for the kids.

I attended this year’s Junior Livestock Sale with a sense of nostalgia and regret but also with the newfound freedom to enjoy the sale and the fair – I was not in charge.