|
The Cowboy Way
June 04, 2009
Each June the tiny community of Custer, Montana, (pop. 145) hosts top ranch hands from around the state as they compete in a contest meant to showcase the skills they use in their everyday ranch work.
The Custer Ranch Rodeo, scheduled for June 20 in 2009, is essentially a contest between different ranches, and spectators are welcome to attend the event and watch authentic, modern-day cowboys and cowgirls - from other small Montana towns with names like Pompey's Pillar, Busby, Terry, Bridger, and Sand Springs - as they bring their best to town and participate in that old-fashioned spirit of cowboy competitiveness.
At the ranch rodeo 4-person teams (each team must have at least one woman on its roster) race against the clock as they brand calves, rope and milk wild cows, maneuver three yearling steers into a small pen, and pass a baton between members, Olympic-style, in the Pony Express Race. The day is crowned with an event called the Stock Saddle Bronc Riding. One member from each team saddles a bronc with his using saddle, then climbs on board for a wild ride. Flamboyance is encouraged as the bronc and the cowboy try to outmaneuver the other in what appears to be an artful dance.
While ranch rodeos are gaining in popularity across cow country as folks start to look toward entertainment closer to home, the Custer Ranch Rodeo is unique in that it is a fundraiser for the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame & Western Heritage Center (www.montanacowboyfame.com).
Based in Wolf Point, the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame was founded in 2003 with the purpose of "honoring Montana's cowboys, cowgirls, settlers, landscape, rodeos, ranches, Indian cultures, industries, communities and wildlife that define Montana with carefully considered annual inductions into the Hall of Fame."
The Cowboy Hall of Fame, which has hosted legacy award inductions for the past two years, will eventually find its home base in a state-of-the-art Western Heritage Center planned for construction in Wolf Point. The goal of the center will be "to provide a unique understanding of the cowboy way of life, Indian culture and roots of our Western heritage by teaching others the colorful history that has shaped our state."
Trustees around Montana are working to acquaint their neighbors with the concept of the Hall of Fame while promoting fundraisers for the effort. That's how the Custer Ranch Rodeo got its start in 2007 - it's meant to be an event to celebrate modern cowboy culture and a fun venue where attendees, from ranch folk to children to tourists who drive in off the interstate to watch a rodeo, can learn about the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. Jointly organized by trustees from Districts 3 & 7 for the Hall of Fame, the Custer Ranch Rodeo is the premier MCHF event in an 11-county area from Ekalaka to Big Timber. And in the last two years the Custer Ranch Rodeo has raised over $10,000 for the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The Custer Ranch Rodeo is backed by several sponsors, including Montana Living Magazine, PV Ranch Co., Newman Rodeo, Nate Wald Rawhide, Arne Esp Silver, Yellowstone County News, the Montana Stockgrowers Assoc., the Montana Cattlemen's Assoc., Northern Ag Network, and Flat Hat Silver.
Another point of interest is that for the first time this year the Custer Ranch Rodeo is sanctioned with the Northern International Livestock Exposition. The NILE, held annually in October in Billings, is a weeklong extravaganza of stock shows, rodeos, trade shows, and equestrian contests. In 2009 the winning team from the Custer Ranch Rodeo will be invited to compete at the NILE Championship Ranch Rodeo against winning teams from other ranch rodeos in the state.
The third annual Custer Ranch Rodeo, scheduled for Saturday, June 20 this year, will kick off with the grand entry at 1 p.m., followed by the presentation of the American flag, an invocation, and a calcutta auctioning off the teams. This is the kind of event where country, God, Western culture and sport all merge into one! The arena where the event is held is located 2 miles northwest of Custer off of Musselshell Trail Road. Cost to enter the gate is $5, with children under 12 enjoying the day for free. Events for kids, including a Boot Race and a Dummy Roping, will intersperse the ranch rodeo events. After the ranch rodeo the Custer community will host a dinner and dance at the Junction City Saloon in downtown Custer.
The Custer Ranch Rodeo promises to be a fun, ranchy family event again in 2009 - and best of all it's for a great cause. For more information, visit www.montanacowboyfame.com.
|
|
