Valley Journal
Valley Journal

This Week’s e-Edition

Current Events

Latest Headlines

What's New?

Send us your news items.

NOTE: All submissions are subject to our Submission Guidelines.

Announcement Forms

Use these forms to send us announcements.

Birth Announcement
Obituary

Rodeo kicks off in Polson

Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local. You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.



Subscribe now to stay in the know!

Already a subscriber? Login now

Wind, rain and cold temperatures kept rodeo fans wrapped in warm blankets and down jackets. But that didn’t chill the competitive spirit of those riding in the Mission Mountain NRA Rodeo held at the Polson Fairgrounds this past weekend.

St. Ignatius native Will Powell is looking forward to expanding his summer circuit and continuing to improve each time he rides into the arena.

“This was my first rodeo of the summer and it didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to,” Powell said. While steer wrestling, he took a horn to the mouth. “It took my money and gave me a fat lip.

” Powell had an impressive time of 5.7 seconds in the steer wrestling but he broke the barrier and received a 10-second penalty. In tie down roping, he wrangled the calf but didn’t meet the 6-second time requirement before the calf untied itself.

Yet Powell said he is excited to get the summer rodeo season going. He will be traveling to Oregon, Washington and Idaho throughout the warm season. “I really wanted to travel more … it is a great way to meet new people and make memories.”

Polson local Nichole Lake competed in the ladies barrel racing and ladies breakaway roping. Lake and her horse finished barrel racing with a time of 18.34 seconds.

“She is a little horse so when the ground is deep like it is here at Polson, she has a harder time compared to these bigger horses,” Lake said.

Lake will be continuing her love for rodeo at the collegiate level this fall at the University of Montana on a rodeo scholarship, competing in breakaway roping, goat tying and barrel racing.

“I am really excited to be riding still,” Lake said. Fans were just as eager for the first event of the summer. Rodeo spectator Judy Hewankorn was enjoying the evening while cheering on her favorites.

“I love coming to the rodeo,” Hewankorn said. “It is a great place for community members to come and have a good time. It is also great to see how much the community supports our local riders.”

Not only does Hewankorn enjoy watching the team roping and bull riding, she takes in the seasonal scenery.

“What better view than this,” Hewankorn said pointing out Flathead Lake, the Mission Mountains and majestic Montana skies. “The arena is surrounded by all this beauty … I think that is another reason that I enjoy coming to the rodeo.

” Polson will host the Flathead River Rodeo on Thursday, Aug 5.

RESULTS:

Bareback: 1, Danny Lien, Ronan, 77. 2, Kyle Delaney, Polson, 67. 3, Carson Clements, Dillon, 57.

Saddle Bronc: 1, Charles Lytle, Arlee, 80. 2, Cole Thoreson, Dillon, 75. 3, Monty Johnson, Hamer, 70. 4, Wyatt Madplume, Browning, 54.

Bull Riding: 1, Tanner Theriault, Avon, 83.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Jabe Anderson, Dillon, 5.1. 2. Hugh Houle, Ronan, 5.3. 3, Walt Anseth, Helena, 5.5. 4, Tyler Houle, Polson, 6.6. 5, Cody Wiberg, Victor, 10.4.

Calf Roping: 1, Brandt Ross, Sheridan, 9.6. 2, Trevor Sunvison, Livingston, 12.7. 3, Colton Johns, Great Falls, 12.8. 4, Cody Sheridan, Arlee, 14.4. 5, Michael Sacks, Corvallis, 19.8.

Team Roping: 1, Tammy Jo Carpenter/ Rich Carpenter, Kalispell, 8.5. 2, Lane Lahaye/ Greg Chadwick, Wilsall, 8.6. 3, Pat Nagy/Colt Nagy, Polson, 9.2. 4, Donny Guardipee/Caleb Guardipee, 11.9. 5, Randy Sacks/Michael Sacks, Corvallis, 13.8.

Lady Barrels: 1, Abby Knight, Charlo, 17.64. 2, Gayleen Malone, Pray, 17.83. 2, Kelsie Wolf, Whitehall, 17.83. 2, Mandy Hamilton, Manhattan, 17.83. 5, Cheyanne Morrison, Polson, 17.95. 6, Taylor Langdon, Texarkana, 17.98. 7, Donna Johnson, Belt, 17.99. 8, Milee Dailey, Pray, 18.05.

Lady Breakaway: 1, Darby Yeager, Choteau, 2.9. 1, Anna Callaway, Billings, 2.9. 3, Reagan Tracy, Victor, 3.0. 4, Tracey Bolich, Belgrade, 3.1. 5, Ruby Speth, Bozeman, 3.2. 6, Jaylyn Garrison, Cut Bank, 3.5. 7, Quinn Made, Dillon, 3.6. 8, Tess Turk, Dillon, 3.7.

Junior Barrels: 1, Brynna Wolfe, Whitehall, 17.75. 2, Paige Rasmussen, Choteau, 18.05. 3, Hailey Weible, Charlo, 18.18. 4, Dillon Johnson, Belt, 18.23. Junior Breakaway: 1, Willy Lytton, Polson, 2.3. 2, Dillon Johnson, Belt, 3.4. 3, Jack McAllister, Ronan, 13.9. 4, Hailey Weible, Charlo, 16.3.

Sponsored by: