In its first season, the Troopers were sponsored by the Casper American Legion post, were strictly a parade corps, and made the corps' first appearance at the State American Legion Convention in Riverton, Wyoming. At that first performance, the corps played "Ghost Riders in the Sky," "Wagon Wheels," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", which would set the tone for Trooper musical programs for decades to come. In 1958, the corps entered its first field competitions, and, being the only corps in Wyoming and one of the few in the Great Plains region, it was necessary for the Troopers to travel extensively to compete in drum and bugle corps competitions. Jones chartered passenger buses to carry the Troopers across and around the country on trips that would last for several weeks, making the corps a "touring corps", a concept that was unusual at the time. Also rare for the time was the Troopers' willingness to allow girls into the brass and percussion sections of the corps. And, in order to help cover the expenses of their touring, the corps' buses were accompanied by the "Sheep Wagon", a trailer set up to look like a small covered wagon that sold souvenirs of the Troopers' visits to the contests in which they competed. Another Troopers innovation was the move away from strictly linear drill; they introduced a circular drill element, the "Sunburst" which still draws enthusiastic crowd approval.