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The RoughridersIn 1971 Jim Paul had a vision. This vision was to create a place were people could go to experience the true old west. His vision became a reality when he opened the gates to Rawhide western town and steakhouse, a 160 acre old west town. When you walked over the authentic covered bridge it was like walking through a time warp into the 1880’s Arizona. This town had it all, Saloon, hitchin’posts for your horses, live music, shops, and of course cowboys!Now here is where things got interesting. Within the first 10 years of its existence Rawhide became the 2nd largest tourist attraction in Arizona right behind the Grand Canyon. One of the main reasons for this was the Cowboy stunt shows that were performed on Main street everyday. Well these Cowboys were known as Guns for Hire, a small group of men who were contracted by Jim Paul to be the part of the entertainment. One of the men was Von Schaffer a true Hollywood stuntman from the 70’s.In 1982 Jim Paul ask Von if he would be interested in becoming part of the Rawhide family directly, and instead of being an outside contractor they would be directly employed by Rawhide. Von agreed and put together his own hand picked team of men to become Arizona’s only full time professional stunt team. He called them The Roughriders!From 1982 to 1990 the Roughriders performed several shows per day on Main Street. Then in late 1990 The Roughriders got there new home, The Six Gun Theater! There they would perform 1200 stunt shows per year.Many Roughriders have come and gone since 1982 but still to this day The Roughriders are still Arizona’s only full time professional stunt team and one thing is for sure, who ever gets the chance and makes it on to the team will always be proud to call themselves Roughriders!