Wyoming

Chad Madsen Of Afton Owns Wyoming's Largest Horse Herd — And Knows Them All By Name

Published

1 year ago

March 9, 2025

Chad Madsen Of Afton Owns Wyoming's Largest Horse Herd — And Knows Them All By Name

Blaze a new trail in the wilds of Wyoming with just about any outfitter or dude ranch in the state, and chances are you’ve ridden on one of the thousands of horses owned by Chad Madsen.

Madsen is the owner of Yellowstone Horse Rentals in Afton, Wyoming. To say it’s an empire is no stretch. When Madsen looks out on his herd of 2,500 horses in winter, he sees a horse horizon. Nothing but horses from near to far.

The horses are sent out to dude ranches and outfitters across Wyoming and beyond in the summer. Then they rotate into hunting parties in the fall.

Wintertime, there are some horses that go out into the Wyoming winter for sleigh rides and the like, but most of them take a trip to Madsen’s Pavilion Ranch for a well-earned vacation.

They’ll get new shoes and shots, as well as all the hay they want, until it’s time for them to get back to work, taking tourists on adventures in the Wyoming wilderness.

Believe it or not, Madsen said he knows every one of all these 2,500 horses by name, as well as all of their individual quirks. It’s all part of ensuring every customer across the state gets the horses they’re going to like the best.

“With new horses, we’ll send in a description with the do’s and the don’ts,” Madsen told Cowboy State Daily. “Whether this horse is a good kid horse or a good lady’s horse or a guide horse.”

Some ranches have favorites, Madsen added, and those favorite horses will go back, year after year, to the exact same ranch throughout their careers.

If, on the other hand, a horse isn’t working out at a particular ranch, Madsen will rotate that horse to a new group, making sure it has the right fit.

“One horse might be hard to catch, but he’s a really good ride,” Madsen said. “Another might be fast in the line when they’re walking. It just kind of depends on the horse.”

A sea of horses at Chad Madsen’s ranch near Afton, Wyoming. (Courtesy Chad Madsen)
Some of Chad Madsen’s horses run through the western Wyoming snow. (Photo by Skye Clark and courtesy Chad Madsen)
A blue-eyed horse seems unfazed by the western Wyoming snow. (Courtesy Chad Madsen)

Building A Horse Empire

Madsen didn’t start out to build the largest horse herd in Wyoming. His family had an outfitting business with its own herd of horses, so he was familiar with them and loved working with the animals.

Then in high school, he worked in the horse-leasing business.

“When I was 21, that guy wanted to sell his horses, so I talked the bank into loaning me some money to put down, and he financed me on the rest,” Madsen said. “That was 350 head of horses 25 years ago in the middle of March.”

That was as big as Madsen figured he’d ever get. But times changed, and Madsen was just ideally positioned to fill a growing need.

“When I first started out, a lot of local guys in the fall had their own horses,” he said. “But now, nobody wants to own their own horses just to go hunting.”

Wyoming outfitters, meanwhile, have a short, eight-week season.

“You just can’t financially justify owning horses for that,” Madsen said. “Dude ranches in the summer can’t really justify owning horses for a 12-week season either.”

For Madsen, the timeframes all work out well for all three of the tourism industry’s biggest needs.

“The horses coming from their summer releases are in good shape,” he said. “They’ve been getting used all summer. So that’s really a lot better than owning a horse who is fat and out of shape and doesn’t really want to go up the hill to go hunting.”

Buying Them Gentle

Madsen travels across the country every winter to stock up his herd with gentle horses.

“Our goal is to buy them already gentle,” Madsen said. “We don’t really have any tricks other than that. There’s no substitute for work. Horses that work for a living are the ones you want.”

Madsen will buy 250 to 300 new horses every year, and goes to auctions all winter long, making sure he’s all stocked up for the summer.

“We like the draft crosses,” he said. “They’re not all draft crosses, but we like quarter horses. The bigger frame, bigger boned, bigger-footed horses.”

Madsen buys horses from the “ground up.”

He looks at their feet, he looks for a sound body, and he looks for that friendly, gentle temperament that means they’ll be a happy horse for a dude ranch or outfitting group.

“Generally, you want to buy them in the prime of their life,” he said. “We don’t always do that, but that’s what we want.”

He does still buy older horses though. They are often good for children.

“Not every horse you buy is gonna work,” he added. “That’s just how it is.”

Chad Madsen driving a team of his horses on a winter sleigh. (Courtesy Chad Madsen)
A pair of horses named Faceoff and Stardust at Chad Madsen’s ranch in Afton, Wyoming. Despite having 2,500 horses in his huge herd, Madsen says he knows every horse by name and termperament. (Courtesy Chad Madsen)
Chad Madsen’s horses are identified by their J Box Dot brand. (Courtesy Chad Madsen)

West Is Short Horses

One reason Madsen travels far and wide to buy horses is that the West is short on them — and getting shorter all the time.

“Some of the bigger cow outfits still use horses, but it’s not like it used to be,” he said. “There are a lot of cow outfits that don’t use horses at all anymore. They use four wheelers and side by sides.”

These days, he’s finding some of his best stock from the Amish, in the Midwest. That’s because the Amish are still very much in the horse business. They still primarily use horses for transportation, farming, and other work.

The shortage of horses has made what Madsen does even more important for the state of Wyoming’s tourism industry.

“The outside money that this brings back into the state of Wyoming is actually pretty remarkable,” Madsen said. “And a lot of that money is coming from outside the state.”

Huge Economic Ripple Effect

Madsen wouldn’t name a specific figure for what his horse herd brings to Wyoming, but said it’s in the millions. That money gets used to buy hay and other supplies for the horses, as well as fix or buy equipment, and shoe horses. It also pays worker salaries, who in turn go out and buy clothes, food, and all the other necessities and wants of life — a huge ripple effect that makes Madsen’s operation a vital prong in the tourism industry.

“I’ve always been kind of proud of that,” Madsen said. “The fact that these horses bring a lot of money into the state. As far as being essential to the tourism of Wyoming, they really are. They’re bringing in a lot of money for the state and helping (tourism) across the state.”

Madsen, meanwhile, loves what he does for a living. Nothing looks more beautiful to him than that horizon full of beautiful, spirited horses, manes and tails flying in a Wyoming wind.

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

35 minutes ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.

One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.

“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”

The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”

The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.

It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.

The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.

Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”

Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”

The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.

SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.

Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”

Both bills go into effect July 1.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule – SweetwaterNOW

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule

Samuel “Tote” Harris. Photo from gowyo.com

LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.

Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.

The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.

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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.

The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.

Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.

With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.

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