Conclusion: The last of the Wild West

Across more than a century of celebrations, spectacles, and cultural performances, the Calgary Stampede has done far more than host a rodeo—it has actively built, sustained, and exported the myth of the Calgary cowboy. Through promotional materials, exhibitions, rodeo events, media partnerships, celebrity appearances, and the enthusiastic participation of Calgarians themselves, the Stampede has transformed the cowboy from a historical labourer into a powerful icon of regional identity. This cowboy is not a simple reflection of ranching history, but a curated cultural figure shaped by nostalgia, nationalism, and the desire to preserve an imagined frontier long after the realities of the West had changed.

From its early 20th-century roots in the Dominion Exhibition to its modern presence across art, music, television, and even comic books, the Stampede has continually reinvented the cowboy to match the values of each era. Whether portrayed as a daring hero of a “dying West,” a symbol of rugged masculinity, or a pop-cultural celebrity, the cowboy remains central to how Calgary narrates its past and presents itself to the world.

The Stampede grounds themselves function as a ritual site where these myths are performed and renewed each year. By inviting spectators to dress the part, participate in staged frontier activities, and cheer on rodeo champions who embody the ideals of courage, toughness, and independence, the event blurs the boundary between history and fantasy. In doing so, it keeps alive a version of the West that is less about historical accuracy than cultural meaning.

Ultimately, the Calgary Stampede’s enduring legacy is not only the preservation of cowboy culture but the creation of a cowboy mythology that continues to shape Calgary’s civic identity. The cowboy stands as a folkloric figure—part entertainer, part national symbol, part cultural memory—whose myth persists because the Stampede continually reimagines him for new generations. Through this ongoing process of performance and storytelling, the Calgary cowboy remains larger than life, a figure who embodies both the city’s origins and the ideals it chooses to celebrate today.