It’s a Western tradition dating back more than a century — from the early days when cowboys roped and wrangled cattle in from the range to the corral and broke wild horses.

Today, the techniques have been honed to perfection — eight-second bronc-bustin’ rides, four-second team roping times and six-second calf roping adventures.

The Livingston Roundup Rodeo continues that tradition with some of the finest rodeo action the West has to offer and some of the best rough stock in the country.

Top hands from all over the country compete for a guaranteed Roundup purse of $68,000. Once the cowboy entry fees are added in, the payout jumps to nearly $195,000 at the event, held July 2-4, starting at 8 p.m. each night.

The Roundup officially gets under way July 2 with a parade through downtown Livingston at 3 p.m., and the first night’s Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event at the Park County Fairgrounds later that evening.

The parade, sponsored by the Livingston Area Chamber of Commerce, kicks off at the foot of South Second Street. It winds through downtown Livingston before marching south again on Main Street.

The parade features bands, floats, antique cars and carriages, and enough horses to make any cowhand envious. Local 4-H groups, fraternal organizations and businesses will also participate in the parade with a wide variety of entries.

A little earlier on the calendar, on June 20, the Downtown Hoe-Down will be held at the Miles Park band shell. A special kids rodeo, a mechanical bull and a “Cutest Little Cowboy Contest” will all take place from 5 to 10 p.m.

Also on June 20, the Rodeo Queen competition will be held at the Fairgrounds, beginning at 9 a.m. with horsemanship.

There are so many rodeo competitors entered in the Roundup that a special “slack time” is set aside for 3 p.m., July 1, to allow all entrants to compete for the money. Slack time is free to the public.

Cowgirls compete in barrel racing. Cowboys compete in bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling and team roping events.

Without a doubt, though, it’s bull riding that captivates the audience.

During the eight-second ride, the 2,000-pound animal twists and turns, seemingly in two directions at the same time, trying to flip the rider off its back. If the bull succeeds — and they usually do — the riders hit the ground, and often the bull attempts to charge the helpless cowhand.

That’s when the bullfighter becomes the most important person in the bullrider’s life.

Dressed in brightly colored garb — which features a multi-colored outfit, sometimes with a “goofy” hat adorned with feathers and the world’s baggiest pants, along with a pair of cleated shoes or cross-training sneakers to improve mobility — the bullfighter distracts the bull long enough for the cowboy to scramble to safety.

The Livingston Roundup Association has contracted the Kesler Championship Rodeo Stock company of Helena for the more than 100 animals needed to provide stiff competition for some of the world’s top cowhands.

The rodeo announcer will be award-winning Steve Kenyon.

Cowboys watch fireworks go off during the Livingston Roundup Rodeo. The fireworks are scheduled after the July 2, 3 and 4 rodeo performances.

Gigantic fireworks displays are planned after each rodeo performance.

The Livingston Roundup Rodeo has a long and colorful history of its own, dating back to the Roaring ’20s when the event began.

In October 1923, Livingston’s own Charlie Murphy was in charge of the stock at the Madison Square Garden Rodeo in New York City.

On Labor Day of 1924, 28 head of those top bucking horses were in Livingston — and rodeo had officially come to Park County.

The Livingston Roundup really got going in 1925.

It was one of eight Class A shows in the nation at the time, offering more than $3,000 in prize money.

Several businessmen organized a nonprofit group, the Livingston Roundup Association, in 1929. The association ran the rodeo until 1941, when it became inactive due to World War II.

There were occasional rodeos during the 1940s and ’50s, but it wasn’t until 1960 that Oral Zumwalt revived professional rodeo in Livingston.

The Roundup Rodeo is one of the three “Gateway Rodeos” held in Livingston and Red Lodge as well as Cody, Wyo., on July 2, 3 and 4. The pro rodeo cowboys travel between the three, often hopping on airplanes to make it to the next event on time.

Tickets for this year’s Roundup Rodeo are $21 for reserved seats and $13 for general admission. Children 3 and under get in free.

For more information or to reserve seats, call (406) 222-3199, or write the Livingston Roundup Association, Box 800, Livingston MT 59047.

back to top

The Yellowstone National Park gateway town of Gardiner hosts one of the best rodeos in the area, packed with the top bull riders, calf ropers and cowgirls in the Northwest.

This year, southern Park County’s hottest rodeo action will be held June 19 and 20.

The 31st annual event begins at Jim Duffy arena, located on U.S. Highway 89 at the north end of town, at 6 p.m. both days.

No Montana rodeo is complete without a parade, and Gardiner’s is set for Saturday at 2 p.m.

Sponsored by the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce, the parade heads along Main Street, then down U.S. Highway 89, and crosses the Yellowstone River bridge before ending near the rodeo grounds.

The rodeo features such traditional events as bareback and saddlebronc riding, bull riding, calf and team roping, and steer wrestling. Women and juniors compete in barrel racing and breakaway roping.

Concessions are provided by the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce.

Admission to the rodeo is $7 for adults and $3 for children 6 to 12. Children 5 and under are admitted free.

The Gardiner Rodeo Club will be selling advance tickets to the rodeo this year. If you purchase your tickets in advance, you will save $1 on adults and $.50 on children 6-12. The Gardiner Rodeo Club will be selling raffle tickets for the annual NRA Rodeo Raffle. Tickets are $5 each or three for $10.

A special “slack time” rodeo to allow all entrants to compete for the money will take place Friday beginning at 1 p.m. Visitors can watch the slack time for free.

Fueled with the memories of impossible rides and crunching crash landings, many Gardiner rodeo fans spend Friday night dancing to live music.

This year, there will be a dance at the Gardiner Community Center following Friday’s performance.

back to top

If it’s rodeo action you want, then you won’t want to miss the 56th annual Wilsall Rodeo.

The two-day event, held June 6 and 7, is sponsored by the Wilsall Rodeo Association and is a sanctioned Northern Rodeo Association event.

Cowboys and cowgirls from all over Montana, surrounding states and Canadian provinces will be competing for more than $13,000 in prize money.

The Northern Rodeo Association itself boasts more than 1,200 members and anticipates more than $500,000 during 2009 in payoffs to competing cowboys and cowgirls this season.

Wilsall is nestled at the foot of the Crazy Mountains in the Shields Valley, about 34 miles north of Livingston on U.S. Highway 89. The Old West town provides an authentic Western atmosphere for its rodeo.

The weekend usually begins late Saturday afternoon with a barbecue at the Wilsall Fire Hall, followed by the rodeo at 6:30 p.m.

Don’t miss one of the highlights of the weekend — the rodeo parade — which marches down U.S. Highway 89, starting at 11 a.m. Sunday.

While the parade ends by noon, the rodeo doesn’t begin again until 2 p.m., leaving the visitor time to wander around town or tour the Shields Valley countryside.

The fertile Shields Valley was first settled in the 1870s. Soon, a number of small farming towns sprang up and were eventually linked by a spur of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

In time, all of the little towns disappeared except Wilsall and its neighbor to the south, Clyde Park. Cattle and grain are the mainstays of the valley.

Wilsall received its name from one of those early settlers, W.J. Jordan. Jordan combined the first syllables of his son’s name, William, and his wife’s name, Sally, to form Wil-Sal, or, as it is spelled, Wilsall.

Both days of rodeo action feature the rough stock of Newman Rodeo Company of Melstone, one of the state’s top stock contractors.

Newman will be providing rodeos around the state with some of the meanest, roughest and craftiest rodeo animals in the nation.

Saddle bronc and bareback riders, calf ropers, team ropers, steer wrestlers and bull riders will try their luck — and skill — against Newman’s stock.

Cowgirls will also get a chance to win top money in barrel racing and breakaway roping.

back to top

For a taste of the Old West, nothing is better than a good, old-fashioned, small-town rodeo, and Big Timber’s stacks up against any.

Held June 26 and 27 at the Sweet Grass County Fairgrounds rodeo arena, newcomers should just follow the crowd north on Main Street across the Montana Rail Link tracks.

The NRA-sanctioned event features all the usual rodeo events, from bull riding to calf roping and a whole lot more.

For the fourth year, children from 10 to 13 can try their hand at youth miniature bull riding.

These animals look just like the rip-snortin’ big boys that toss cowboys like rag dolls around the arena — except the bulls are under 4 feet high.

The NRA rodeo starts at 7 p.m. on June 26 and 6 p.m. on June 27.

Tickets each night are $8 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 12.

The stock will be provided by Red Eye Rodeo of Deer Lodge.

Little buckaroos 5 and under pay no admission fee.

For more information and the availability of tickets, call rodeo organizer Monte Finn at (406) 932-6228.

Besides the rodeo, there is a wide variety of events scheduled for Big Timber and Sweet Grass County this summer.

back to top