In 1971 Jim Paul had a vision. This vision was to create a place where people could
go to experience the true old west. His vision became a reality when he opened
the gates to Rawhide WesternTown. Within the first ten years of its existence Rawhide became the second largest tourist attraction in Arizona. His vision of the true old west was second only to the Grand Canyon.One of the main reasons for this was the Cowboys and the stunt shows they performed on Main Street on a daily basis. The Cowboy’s were simply know as Guns for Hire, a small group of men who had contracted by Jim Paul to be a part of the entertainment in town. One of these men was Von Schaffer a true Hollywood stuntman of the 1970’s.
    In 1982 Jim Paul asked Von Schaffer if he would be interested in
becoming a part of the Rawhide family permanently, instead of being contracted
to Rawhide they would be directly employed by Rawhide. Von Schaffer agreed and
proceeded to put together a team of his own hand picked stuntmen, who became
Arizona’s only full time professional stunt team. These men were charged with not only with entertaining the town and performing in Rawhide, but to keep Jim Paul’s idea of the true old west alive. Von Schaffer called them The Roughriders.
    From 1982 to 1986 The Roughriders performed several shows per day on
Main Streetfor thousands of guests. Then one day in 1986 The Roughriders received their new home, The Six Gun Theater. There they would perform over 1200 stunt shows per year and as the years past The Roughriders became The Rawhide Roughriders a stunt team that was exclusive to Rawhide all the while keeping the true old west alive.
    In 2009 like with the founder Von Schaffer an opportunity was given to
The Rawhide Roughriders to stay true their original vision, brotherhood, and
maybe something more. So under the guidance of the team captain Ed Vanderlee
they became The Arizona Roughriders.Since then, The Arizona Roughriders LLC has branched out to the film and media industry as stunt choreographers, stunt men, and actors while maintaining their live theater shows for the thousands of guests visiting Rawhide.
    It all started with one vision and The Arizona Roughriders are no
different with new projects on the horizon with their out reach in film and media there is no end to where you might find them. Many men and women have come and gone since those early days and whether you knew them a Cowboy or aGun for Hire they all are proud to have earned the right to call them selves Roughrider.


  

The Arizona Roughriders have been performing live and have been seen on every major television network in the world.  They have traveled across the country to perform as actors and stuntmen. They call Arizona home but can adapt to perform anywhere.