Dr. Francis A. Barrett first volunteered as a physician in the Frontier Days arena in 1952 and continued volunteering every year until 1989--thirty five years of faithful service to the "Daddy of ‘Em All." "Doc," as he was known to the cowboys, was selected as a Heel in 1954. As a young man, he worked on the ten thousand acre Brooks Barrett Cattle Ranch, one of the largest sheep and cattle ranches in eastern Wyoming. He once remarked that one of the many things he learned from this job was that sleeping in a bunkhouse with twenty cowboys and stomping wool into ten foot long sacks was not the career for him. Instead, he decided to continue with his
education and became a doctor.

In Dr. Barrett's early days of working in the arena, he provided emergency medical care from the back of his horse, Frog's Pleasure, with his black leather doctor's bag tied to the saddle. In 1971, with expansion of CFD from six to nine days, Dr. Barrett recognized the need for increased medical services and recruited other local physicians trained in trauma to volunteer at the arena. Because of this, the medical services expanded to provide immediate stabilizing care to injured performers. Dr.
Barrett also worked to coordinate and expand the involvement of military medical personnel. No one had to worry about the medical care Frontier Days because Dr. Barrett had all the bases organized and ready.

One of Dr. Barrett's dear friends from CFD was the legendary rodeo clown Wilbur Plaugher, who named his dog "Doc" after his good friend. Whenever a cowboy needed help, Dr. Barrett rode to the injured man, quickly dismounted and rendered emergency care. If needed, he called on the ambulance and watched the injured rider carefully before helping paramedics load him into the ambulance for the journey to the hospital. He sat astride his horse watching the Chuck Wagon Race - a race that didn't start until Dr. Barrett signaled to his friend and arena director,John Morris, that all medical personnel were ready to go. During the Wild Horse Race, he could also be spotted watching from atop his horse, not only to see if help was needed, but also to watch and make sure one of his teenage sons wasn't trying to sneak into the event.

Doc's contributions were usually invisible to the public as he tended to the cowboy's injuries behind the bucking chutes or tried to improve their homemade remedies for previous injuries. He understood and respected the independent spirit of the cowboys and earned their affection and confidence. Today's cowboys know that the best medical care is available at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Dr. Barrett's legacy lives on in the medical care provided every July at the "Daddy of 'Em All" and although he is no longer there to participate, he would be proud of the many doctors who continue to serve at the rodeo. In the words of Dr. Mike Herber, who Dr. Barrett brought into the arena as a medical student, "Good ride cowboy, good ride."

Wyoming native, Dr. Barrett, is the son of former U.S. Congressman, Wyoming Governor and U.S. Sen. Frank Barrett and mother Alice Barrett. He and his wife Harriett raised eight children in Cheyenne.