(Lander, WY) – Sheep Shearing Day returned to the Pioneer Museum in Lander last Saturday, drawing families out for one of the museum’s signature summer events despite cool and overcast weather.
The event, now in its tenth year, is built around live sheep shearing demonstrations, but the day offers much more than haircuts. Visitors learned about working sheepdogs, explored shearing demonstrations, grabbed lamb burgers at the picnic pavilion, and lined up for horseback rides brought by Pat Troutman. Kids could try their hands at crafts, and this year the museum added a new attraction: riders from the Pony Express, the group that reenacts the Pony Express ride that passes through the area each July.
Museum curator Randy Wise said the event typically draws between 400 and 500 people and serves as the unofficial start to the museum’s summer season.
“My goal with our events is to have fun for people, but also to educate them about our history,” Wise said.
Museum curator Randy Wise sprayed shaving cream on a wooden sheep cutout for kids to do simulated shearing races. h/t Carl Cote A young rider mounted a horse at the horse riding during Sheep Shearing Day at the Pioneer Museum. h/t Carl Cote A curious lamb approaches the fence at shee shearing day.h/t Carl Cote
That history centers on an industry most people don’t associate with Fremont County anymore. Wise said sheep ranching was once far bigger than the cattle business in Lander, largely because it was cheaper and easier to run. One herder and a dog could manage 500 or more sheep from a sheep wagon, while a comparable cattle operation required a dozen cowboys. The demand was there, too. Before cotton became widespread and long before synthetics, wool was the primary textile, and lamb and mutton were staples that cost less than beef.
“People call this cattle country, and it is now,” Wise said. “But it was originally sheep country.”
Sheep ranching is still present in Fremont County, but the scale has shrunk as tastes changed and wool fell out of everyday use. Wise said the event is meant to keep that history visible, the same way the museum’s Applefest highlights the region’s once-thriving apple orchards.
Sheep herding dogs peer out of their truckbed crate during Sheep Shearing Day. Having the right breed of sheep herding dogs makes all of the difference for sheep farmers, keeping their stock alive and safe from predators. h/t Carl Cote Bill Elder, president of the Pioneer Association, grills up fresh lamb burgers at sheep shearing day in Lander. “Randy does such an awesome job with these functions for the community,” said Elder. “This is part of our history and it’s important to share it with future generations.” h/t Carl Cote A llama checks out approaching visitors at Sheep Shearing Day in Lander. h/t Carl Cote
Ivan Laird, a local sheep rancher, coordinates the shearing side of the event and provides the animals. Wise said Laird holds back a number of sheep from their usual spring shearing, which normally happens in March or earlier, so they’re available for the demonstration in late spring.
National Honor Society students volunteer at the event alongside other community members.
Wise said the museum has a full schedule of programming ahead this summer, including speaker series, historical treks to sites around the county, and additional kids’ events to look forward to.