Montana
Was This Montana's Best Rodeo of 2024?
Montana has been a rodeo country for as long as anyone can remember, and that’s certainly true with the major upgrades to the Darby Rodeo arena.
But even all the television coverage and prizes worth tens of thousands of dollars didn’t top what happened here this past weekend.
And it may be just the spark to become a regular event, and an inspiration to the next generation of Montana rodeo stars.
Dennis Bragg photo
An unbelievable turnaround
Darby Rodeo Association President Cal Ruark says it was the “challenge of all challenges”, when the group decided to start revamping the area 15 years ago, starting with a $10,000 “winner-take-all event.”
“We had to cut the entries off,” Ruark recalls, remembering the huge crowds. “The crowd had their nose stuck through the fence.”
How did “Yellowstone” impact the Darby Rodeo
When Paramount shifted its production of the TV series “Yellowstone” to the Bitterroot, it brought additional attention, contacts, and bucks. Now, the “Yellowstone Darby Xtreme Bareback”
Cal Ruark, Darby Rodeo Association President; Dennis Bragg photo
is huge, drawing the best riders from all over the country.
“It’s on the Cowboy Channel live, and it just became the place to be in the rodeo world,” observes Ruark, noting it was the community that “made it happen.”
READ MORE: How Darby Developed the Best Bareback Rodeo in Montana
One idea that didn’t happen until now
Yet, for all the success of being a non-profit, Ruark and the others had one more idea.
“I feel bad that I’ve let this go this long,” Ruark told me Saturday, as we watched the youngest cowboys and cowgirls at the 1st annual Darby Kids Rodeo.
For four hours, enthusiastic kids from 15 down to just 3 years old got their chance for applause and cheers, as they competed in easier traditional events like barrel racing, calf riding and steer riding.
Dennis Bragg photo
Dennis Bragg photo
But when the little ones took to the arena for the stick horse barrel racing, and goat “underrating”, it was obvious the Rodeo Association had a hit on its hands.
“Brings tears to my eyes,” Cal told me, confident in the knowledge that there’s another generation to carry on the rodeo tradition.
“You never know which one’s going to be a future world champion. You just don’t know.”
“What more could you ask for than what we’re seeing here today?”
Are you listening PRCA?
While events like “mutton bustin’” have been a part of bigger rodeos for years, this fun afternoon under a perfect Bitterroot blue sky showed the kids should have their own event.
“The rodeo world is different as far as sports go,” notes Ruark. “Football, basketball, all that. People at a rodeo, one thing they do that they don’t have to do is take care of an animal. Whether they’re riding, running barrels, or whatever. They’ve got an animal int eh equation which is different than any other sport.”
The Association is hoping to repeat the success “3 or 4 times” in 2025.
Tell those TV cowboys to leave the kids some room.
Dennis Bragg photo
Top 10 Most Commonly Reported Ancestries of Montanans
Gallery Credit: Ashley Warren
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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