It was said of Earl Vandehei that "he got his start from the scratch of a horse shoe nail.” In one way or another, horses figured into every aspect of his life. Earl was just a teenager when he and his father left Wisconsin for a true western adventure. Seeking the opportunities afforded by the Homestead Act, father and son headed west - Earl on his pony, Gypsy- to prove up on land in Goshen County. From here, Earl would ride cross country to Cheyenne for the Frontier Days event.

In the 1920s Earl moved to Cheyenne, met and married his sweetheart, Flora and raised a family on their ranch north of town. Earl's love of horses was lifelong. In the early days, he used draft horses pulling dirt moving equipment for work on improvements to Cheyenne's infrastructure and later, he made his saddle horses available for the Frontier Days parades and provided draft horses to pull carriages. When chuck wagon racing came to the CFD rodeo in the early 1950s, Earl entered his own wagon, using a Canadian driver, and a matched team of his beloved thoroughbred horses. He participated in the event for many years. Earl provided calves for roping into the mid 1960s and later his wife, Flora and their son, Jerry brought calves for the event. Earl also provided novelty stock such as buffalo. He was the track race starter for many years and provided CFD with the original starting gates. Others in Earl's family have also been involved with Cheyenne Frontier Days. His wife, Flora, donated carriages and memorabilia to the CFD Old West Museum when it opened in 1978. Jerry's wife, Beverly was a long time member of the W-heels, and three of Earl's grandsons helped at the event for a short time during their youth. Earl's daughter, Joy Vandehei Kilty reigned as Miss Frontier in 1950 and his granddaughter, Deidre Kilty Newman was Miss Frontier in 1978.