Written by: Scott ManschTribune Sports Editor
The Northern Rodeo Association knows all about a rough road, having persevered despite a split with its longtime home and a once-bitter rift from its brethren in the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit.
And now the NRA is on a smooth course to success.
The organization’s Finals, a three-performance show featuring nightly performances at 7 p.m., kicks off tonight at the Butte Civic Center. After many decades in Billings, the event moved to the Mining City three years ago and has been accepted with open arms.
“The committee here in Butte does a great job and we’re getting a lot of community sport here,” said NRA president Walt Anseth, a talented steer wrestler from Helena. “Billings is a great town, but we were losing some of that support.”
The NRA Finals typically was staged in February in Montana’s largest city. The move to October has been popular, Anseth said.
“Everybody’s horses are still in shape and for the timed events the cattle and steers are the ones we’ve seen all summer,” he said. “People are still able to practice before the Finals, so the contestants are sharp.”
The NRA’s weekend finale is patterned after the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals, a January event that annually attracts huge crowds to Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. The two organizations are different. But where once existed bitter rivalry is now nothing but harmony.
“Years ago,” said NRA executive secretary Theresa Walter, “there was really a rivalry. It used to be you couldn’t even go back and forth. You had to belong to one or the other.”
Walter’s love for the NRA is obvious. She is also one of the top barrel racers in the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit and has for years thrilled the Four Seasons Arena crowds. Few are so obviously connected to both organizations.
“Now it’s just all about rodeo in Montana,” she said of the relationship between the two factions. “And about what’s best for rodeo in our state.”
The event’s purse has been increased, Anseth said. This year, go-round victories will pay about $700 and average triumphs are worth about $1,050.“We’ve had a great year,” he said. “Our numbers are up and our rodeos keep getting stronger and stronger.”
Large crowds are anticipated at the Civic Center.
“It seats 3,500 and there’s not a bad seat in the house,” said Anseth, who will be competing in the bulldogging.
The top 10 money-winners in each event from the NRA season qualified for the Finals. Most of the year-end championships are up for grabs, but that’s not the case in the barrel racing or the women’s all-around. It’s because Conrad teenager Taylour Russell enjoyed such a phenomenal summer.
“She’s been just awesome,” said Walter, no slouch as a barrel racer herself. “It’s especially exciting to see them come as kids and step into roles as adults. For me that’s what the NRA’s all about: introducing people to rodeo at a young age and teaching them to be champions.”
Russell, 17, has already clinched the championship saddles in the barrel racing. She also owns a substantial lead in the all-around standings after a summer during which she won the barrel racing at six NRA events and placed second at five others.
Russell won more money ($11,918) than any other male or female athlete in the NRA. A lot of the credit, of course, goes to her mount. Russell’s swift barrel race “Gee Gee,” a 7-year-old black mare that her folks, father Joe and mother Lourtes, purchased last summer from Canadian owners, has been nothing short of spectacular.
Russell won the Whoop-Up Trail Days Rodeo in her hometown last May and hasn’t stopped winning rodeos – or earning big checks – ever since.
Other event leaders entering the NRA Finals include John Salois of East Glacier (bareback), Michael Gollaher of Cascade (steer wrestling), Jason Carlson of Two Dot (team roping header), Justin Marquez of Bozeman (team roping heeler and saddle bronc), Landon Williams of Midland (tie-down roping), J.D. Harrell of Roy (bull racing) and Tracey Bolich of Belgrade (breakaway roping).
Stock contractors for the event include Big Circle of Circle, Red Eye of Deer Lodge, Jacobs Livestock of Great Falls and Black Eagle Rodeo of Cut Bank.
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