Wyoming Mascot ‘Cowboy Joe’ Stars In Awesome New Video

When Cowboy Joe V takes the field at War Memorial Stadium, he carries on a proud family tradition that dates back five generations and 68 years.

The legend began in 1950, when the Farthing family discovered a Shetland pony who was starving after his mother had died. As they nursed the orphan back to health, the family was so impressed with his resilience, they named him Cowboy Joe and donated him to the University of Wyoming.

"We travelled all over the state. We went in the bars, everywhere, ahead of homecoming, we did a tour. Everybody said, bring him in, bring him in! So we’d just bring him right into the bars and have a drink, and if he pooped on the floor, he just pooped on the floor," former handler Brian Heinz told Wyoming Public Media in 2012.

When the original Cowboy Joe retired in 1965, the Farthing family donated another pony from their ranch. Cowboy Joe II served until 1981. The current mascot, Cowboy Joe V took over in 2013. That same year, he was voted the Cutest Mascot in College Football.

The new Denver Post video is the third in a four-part series about iconic college mascots on the Front Range.