A documentary featuring the Denver Rustlers and the Colorado State Fair Champion Junior Livestock Sale will air on PBS12 this Friday, August 26 at 9 p.m. The half-hour documentary, Denver Rustlers, was produced through the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media (COFTM) and celebrates a 38-year tradition of helping Colorado’s young farmers and ranchers showcase their livestock to earn money for college.
“For Colorado, farming and ranching are a way of life and a dynamic part of our economy. It’s part of who we are, and the Denver Rustlers have helped 4H and Future Farmers of America kids keep the tradition going strong and build on our work to help Colorado families save for training and college. It’s great to see this story told for all Coloradans to appreciate,” said Gov. Jared Polis.
Since 1984, the Denver Rustlers have rallied a bipartisan group of State and business leaders to attend and bid at the annual Champion Junior Livestock Sale at the Colorado State Fair. The group has raised more than $3 million for student exhibitors and helped send thousands of kids to college.
"Every year, the Denver Rustlers support Colorado's next generation of farmers and ranchers as they showcase their livestock," said Sen. Michael Bennet. "I'm delighted that this documentary will highlight these incredibly hardworking young Coloradans and this fantastic tradition. I encourage everyone to tune in."
Denver Rustlers follows 4H and Future Farmers of America kids on their journey to the Junior Livestock Sale while sharing the history of the Denver Rustlers, the largest stock show buying group at the Colorado State Fair. Teachers and students in the Video Cinema Arts program at Denver School of the Arts filmed and directed the documentary.
“It is amazing that the decades-old Denver Rustlers event and its supporters will be memorialized in this documentary,” said Josh Hanfling, Denver Rustlers Event Organizer and Partner at Sewald Hanfling Public Affairs.
“It’s always a powerful experience for our young filmmakers to get to work in a professional capacity, and it’s both informative and gratifying for us, as their teachers, to get to see their production skills in action. Having students work with us on the Denver Rustlers project was especially exciting (and essential) because of the scope of the project—which included a massive one-day shoot across multiple locations, with hundreds of subjects, and lots of animals too. We continue to be grateful for the support and resources from the Colorado Film Commission that have allowed us to immerse our most experienced high school filmmakers in amazing professional opportunities,” said Amy McGrath, Co-Director of the Video Arts Cinema program and one of the filmmakers.
Denver Rustlers premieres primetime on Friday, August 26 at 9 p.m. on PBS12 and will be available to view online after the original airdate.