Gov. Mark Gordon watches bronc riders at Cheyenne Frontier Days, standing between Bob Budd, director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, and Buck McVeigh, Gordon’s new acting chief-of-staff, who is hidden behind a pole in this photograph. (Andrew Graham/WyoFile)

In between coal company bankruptcies and a collapsed irrigation tunnel that left eastern Wyoming farmers without water at a critical time, Gov. Mark Gordon found some time to enjoy the rodeo at Cheyenne Frontier Days. 

Gordon had been in Goshen County viewing a collapsed irrigation tunnel the day before, according to his official Twitter account. 

He’s captured in this photo between Bob Budd, director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, and Buck McVeigh, Gordon’s new acting chief-of-staff. The three men watched a few bronc riders from this perch in the press box before moving on to greet friends and well-wishers elsewhere in the arena.  

Of course for a Wyoming governor Cheyenne Frontier Days is more than just a chance to enjoy some world-class riding and roping — it’s also a practically obligatory public appearance. Like U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), Gordon took a moment to join the rodeo announcer and address the thousands assembled in Cheyenne. 

The announcer, Andy Stewart, said the rodeo was proud to exist in a state with a cowboy governor, giving a nod to Gordon’s family ranch in Johnson County.

Support Wyoming photography with a tax-deductible donation today.

Andrew Graham is reporting for WyoFile from Laramie. He covers state government, energy and the economy. Reach him at 443-848-8756 or at andrew@wyofile.com, follow him @AndrewGraham88

Leave a comment

Want to join the discussion? Fantastic, here are the ground rules: * Provide your full name — no pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish and expects commenters to do the same. * No personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats. Keep it clean, civil and on topic. *WyoFile does not fact check every comment but, when noticed, submissions containing clear misinformation, demonstrably false statements of fact or links to sites trafficking in such will not be posted. *Individual commenters are limited to three comments per story, including replies.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *