People were double bundled up for the grand march up 17th Street, but some beloved parade entries called in too cold

A beloved staple of the National Western Stock Show’s kick-off parade was missing Thursday after a winter storm and icy roads prevented dozens of longhorns from making the trip to Denver.

The National Western Stock Show Parade made its way through downtown Denver Thursday afternoon. Large crowds gathered in excitement to watch the parade, which kicks off the sixteen-day-long National Western Stock Show.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch as livestock and rodeo stars took over the streets of downtown Denver Thursday for the annual National Western Stock Show Parade.

Snow will be strongest in Denver between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to NWS forecasters, but event organizers are hopeful the worst of the storm will move out before the new parade start time.

The National Western Stock Show Parade will hit the streets of Denver one hour later than previously scheduled on Thursday because of forecasted snow.

More than a thousand people headed to Denver to watch the National Western Stock Show Kick-Off Parade. The event spans most of January and includes multiple rodeos and other related events.

The parade happened despite cold temperatures and strong wind gusts on Thursday. George W. Bush gave fellow former president Barack Obama a friendly belly tap at the Jan. 9 funeral of Jimmy Carter, and the internet was obsessed with the viral moment.

The Texas longhorns that lead off the annual parade for the National Western Stock Show in downtown Denver always gather a big crowd. When they're not trail-driving down 17th Street in Denver, they're living the life at their winter pasture in Colorado Springs.