Our Legacy
The Story Behind The Pony Pub
Long before it became The Pony Pub, the old 1973 Murdoch had already spent years traveling professional rodeo circuits across the West. Its story started in rodeo arenas and ranch life, then took a three-year family restoration to become the bar you see today.
Pony Pub 6th Generation Colorado Native Owned and Operated
Long before The Pony Pub
Before the bar,
there was the rodeo.
Long before it became The Pony Pub, this old 1973 Murdoch horse trailer had already spent years on the road.
It traveled the professional rodeo circuits across the West, hauling Birt Silkey Dell, a champion Quarter Horse who competed in barrel racing and steer roping throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, New Mexico, and beyond.
Birt brought home a wall full of blue, red, and yellow ribbons, and the old Murdoch was there to see it all — from long drives and dusty rodeo grounds to packed arenas and countless miles on the road.
When Birt's rodeo days were over, the trailer returned to the ranch, where it sat for years waiting for a new purpose.
A second life
Rebuilt from
the ground up.
In 2020, Cody and his dad, James, decided to give the old Pony another life.
They stripped the trailer down and began rebuilding it from the ground up, spending hundreds of hours working side by side over the next three years.
James personally selected the hickory and handled much of the custom woodwork, along with the iron fabrication and welding that became part of the finished bar. Cody took on the major body repairs, restoration work, refinishing, and custom detail work needed to bring the old trailer back to life.
The old rodeo trailer was becoming a working bar.
By 2023, it had become The Pony Pub, complete with handcrafted hickory countertops, vintage brass details, an antique horse head ornament, and a three-tap draft system.
An original 1800s hitching-post horse head became one of the Pony's favorite finishing details. The solid hickory serving station was among the final pieces Cody and James fitted together.
Built together
More than
a restoration.
Just as the restoration was complete and The Pony Pub was ready for its next chapter, James became ill.
Plans for the business were put on hold.
In 2024, The Pony Pub served its first gathering at James's Celebration of Life.
Friends and family gathered around the bar Cody and James had spent years building together, sharing stories, memories, and time with the people who knew him best.
That first gathering became an important part of The Pony Pub's story and a lasting connection to everything Cody and James had built together.
What began as an old rodeo trailer became a legacy that Cody and James built together — and something that continues to carry their work forward.
The story continues
The story continues
A new purpose.
The same history.
Today, Cody brings The Pony Pub to weddings and special events across Colorado. Take a look at our packages and pricing or browse the bar menu.
It is still the same trailer that hauled rodeo horses across the West, only now it is built around a bar with professional bartending service. The purpose changed, but the history did not.
Every event carries a little of that history with it and a lot of the work Cody and James put into bringing it back.
In loving memory of James P. Muth · May 4th, 2023
