Rodeos Of The Year
By JOE KUSEK
October 17, 2024
Pay them and they will come.
And enter, they did.
The annual Ennis Rodeo during the Fourth of July was one of the highest-paying rodeos during the Mountain Health Co-Op Tour during the summer of 2024.
The rodeo, held in a picturesque town known for tourism and fishing, paid out 16 checks of $1,000 or more this year and 34 checks of $500 or more.
It was a must-enter rodeo for cowboys and cowgirls harboring Northern Rodeo Association Finals dreams.
For that reason, the Ennis Rodeo is the Platinum Rodeo of the Year, selected by those competing.
Helmville, the final rodeo of the regular season, is the Gold Rodeo of the Year.
The Most Improved Facility award went to the East Helena Valley Rodeo while the Mission Mountain Rodeo in Polson was awarded Best Ground of the Year.
The award-winning rodeos will be honored during the NRA Finals presented by nuWest Builders, Oct. 24-26 at Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell.
The Platinum designation was the latest honor for Ennis which has earned Gold Rodeo, Best Ground and most improved the previous eight years.
“It means near everything. It’s what you shoot for,” said Chief Croy, the Ennis Rodeo chairman. “I was dumbfounded when I got the call. I was not expecting that call.
“I think it’s pretty awesome.”
Working with local businesses, “I don’t know how many signs we have in the arena,” said Croy, there is a sponsor for every event and the junior events.
“We get to know the local business people,” Croy continued. “We sell our events. Our rodeo is paid for before we start.”
Along with hefty checks there is an additional incentive: a set of coveted stirrups given to each winner. The stirrups have the event and year down the sides.
The stirrups came from conversations with competitors, some who are friends of Croy’s two sons, Brady and Tracer. The Croy brothers no longer compete but the friends are still in the arena.
“We talk with their friends who are competing, see what the cowboys and cowgirls want,” said the elder Croy.
The Ennis Rodeo also keeps fans updated with its own website.
“Oh yeah, this awesome,” reiterated Croy of the honor.
Just a few hours north of Ennis is Helmville, an unincorporated area 70 miles east of Missoula.
“There’s about 150 people, 60 in town,” said Bill Baker, the president of the Helmville rodeo committee.
But Labor Day weekend those numbers swell as it becomes the center of the NRA and Northern Women’s Rodeo Association universe.
It is the final opportunity for cowboys and cowgirls to qualify for the NRA Finals.
“When I got the call, I was pretty excited. I gave a big holler,” said Baker. “My son asked what was going on. It’s a special honor.”
Helmville was the difference maker for a handful of cowboys and cowgirls from being on the outside to being invited to the NRA’s premier event.
Helmville, according to Baker, has been sanctioned by the NRA for almost 40 years.
The rodeo invites the top six in the standings to a winner-take-all event for $1,000. Helmville also had bareback riders and steer wrestlers in previous years and now has added breakaway ropers to the challenge.
It is the third time Helmville has been chosen Gold Rodeo of the Year. It has also been honored four times for best ground.
“We’ve got a good organization that cares about rodeo,” said Baker. “We’ve got a really good rodeo committee. The next day after the rodeo, we start planning for next year. Keep going higher is our goal.
“We like to say we’re the biggest little rodeo in Montana.”