Stephens Enjoying Best Roping Summer

The annual Cat-Griz football game is one of the most hotly-contested rivalries in the United States.

The game between Montana State and Montana divides communities, puts friendships on hold and splits families.

Kayla Stephens has seen the impact up close and personal.

“It’s kind of funny because my whole family grew up avid Griz fans, then all of us cousins ended going to MSU for undergrad,” said the Corvallis cowgirl.

Stephens has a unique perspective on the game. The Stevensville native graduated from MSU with a degree in exercise science. She also competed for the Bobcat rodeo team.

Currently she is attending UM, pursuing her degree in physical therapy.

Stephens has boots on both sides of the football fence.

“I really enjoyed my time at MSU,” she said. “Being part of the rodeo team was an amazing experience – the town and the school supports rodeo so much and I have lifelong friends from the team.

“I’ll always feel like a Bobcat at heart, I think. But going to both schools now means I never technically lose when it comes to the Cat-Griz game.”

While the family may be divided, she is unifying their loyalties in the rodeo arena.

The 24-year-old is enjoying her best summer for the Mountain Health Co-op Tour, sitting in the top three for the breakaway roping standings.

Entering last week, she found herself in a Salmond sandwich, trailing standings leader Molly Salmond and ahead of Celie Salmond.

“I took a screenshot of my name between them,” Stephens said with a good laugh. “It’s one time in my life I am between them. Being in front of Celie is an accomplishment in itself. They have roped for so long and are so good.”

Molly Salmond also leads the all-around cowgirls standings. Celie Salmond is the defending all-around champion and last year became the first cowgirl to win three consecutive year-end breakaway roping titles.

“It’s been a good summer. I’ve been roping pretty well. It’s been fun,” said Stephens. “My horse has been working great. I had a string of rodeos where I drew good and capitalized on that.”

Stephens won at Three Forks and the second Valley View rodeo in Bozeman and also placed second at the first Valley View rodeo. She added a third place at Eureka.

“I like the individual work in it,” Stephens said of the lightning-quick event. “Whatever work you put in, you get out. It’s a real display of horsemanship. So many top performers are going right now.”

The two-time high school state champion is riding Capone, her 13-year-old bay gelding.

“The is the third summer I have been roping on him,” said Stephens. “The last two years he has been super consistent. I don’t have to worry about him at all. He does his job every time, making it easy to do my job.”

Consistent in the arena, Capone can be a handful outside of work.

“He’s kind of an ill-mannered horse,” the owner added with another laugh. “He chews the hub caps off my trailer, lays down next to the trailer … he’s a quirky horse but I love him.”

Stephens isn’t the only family member working the rodeo arena. Her husband Jackson – they got married last year – serves as a pickup man for Red Eye Rodeo.

The two met at a junior high rodeo, the same time Stephens began breakaway roping. “He always teased me and I thought he was lame,” she said. “We started dating freshman year of high school. We figured if we liked each other, we should stop teasing each other.”

Her brother-in-law Duston Stephens is a two-time Northern Rodeo Association steer wrestling champion.

With the Mountain Health Co-op Tour regular season rapidly coming to an end, Stephens is closer to her goal.

“I’ve been trying to make the Finals for a while now,” she said. “It’s eluded me the last four, five years. I’ve just been out of qualifying the last few years.

“I’ll enter and go have fun. I hope to keep it rolling.”

Last week

It was only a matter of time. Celie Salmond doing Celie Salmond things.

The Choteau cowgirl earned five checks at three rodeos to pocket more than $3,200.

The reigning all-around cowgirl won the breakaway roping at Twin Bridges and Darby. She earned $1,959 at Darby, also placing second in team roping with her father Mark and sixth in barrel racing. Salmond added a sixth place in breakaway roping in Livingston.

She wasn’t the only big winner on the Mountain Health Co-op Tour. Jason Colclough of Libby won the saddle bronc titles at Twin Bridges, Darby and Livingston.

All-around cowboy standings leader Ryder Gaasch padded his lead with steer wrestling wins at Twin Bridges and Deer Lodge, along with a tie-down roping victory at Darby. He was also second in tie-down roping at Deer Lodge.

Livingston was a season-changer with 19 checks for $1,000 or more earned by competitors and 36 of $500 or more.

In a hurry for his money was Helena’s Jaxsen Petersen. Petersen won the steer wrestling with a time of 3.2 seconds, one of the fastest times in NRA history. The record is believed to be 3.1 seconds at Big Timber by former world champion Ty Erickson of Helena in 2020.

Twin Bridges winners: Dalton May, Coram, bareback; (tie) Jason Colclough, Libby and Justin Whiteman, Busby, saddle bronc; J.R. Harrell, Toston, bull riding; Ryder Gaasch, Dillon, steer wrestling; Mitch Detton, Great Falls, tie-down roping; Ike Folsom, Jackson-Matt Williams, Rexburg, Idaho; Samantha Gerlach, Columbus, barrel racing; Celie Salmond, Choteau, breakaway roping; Sylvia Eash, Fortine, junior barrel racing; Brooks Bolich, Belgrade, junior breakaway roping.

Darby winner: Azreal Lara, Columbia Falls, bareback; Jason Colclough, Libby, saddle bronc; Devyn Hundley, Darby, bull riding; Mitch Detton, Great Falls, steer wrestling; Ryder Gaasch, Dillon, tie-down roping; J.R. Winter-Shane Bessette, Great Falls, team roping; Maci DeHaan, Belgrade, barrel racing; Celie Salmond, Choteau, breakaway roping; Sylvia Eash, Fortine, junior barrel racing; Brooks Bolich, Belgrade, junior breakaway roping.

Deer Lodge winners: Dalton May, Coram, bareback; Parker Mothershead, Joliet, saddle bronc; Devyn Hundley, Darby, bull riding; Ryder Gaasch, Dillon, steer wrestling; Mitch Detton, Great Falls, tie-down roping; Coby King-Kyler Erickson, team roping; Josie Meyring, White Sulphur Springs, barrel racing; Jace Winward, Grace, Idaho, breakaway roping; Bailey Billingsley, Glasgow, junior barrel racing; Alannah Scafani, Whitehall, junior breakaway roping.

Livingston winners: Wyatt Warneke, Great Falls, bareback; Jason Colclough, Libby, saddle bronc; Owen Monfeldt, Cody, Wyoming, bull riding; Jaxsen Petersen, Helena, steer wrestling; Nathan Ruth, Big Timber tie-down roping; Ben Folsom-Matt Williams, Rexburg, Idaho, team roping; Brittney Sporer, Cody, Wyoming, barrel racing; Tavy Leno, Dillon, breakaway roping; Sylvia Eash, Fortine, junior barrel racing; Brooks Bolich, Belgrade, junior breakaway roping.

Up next

The Mountain Health Co-op Tour barrels toward the end of the regular season with four rodeos in three days this coming weekend.

There are six rodeos remaining on the schedule for competitors to qualify for the Tito’s Challenge, a $1,000 bonus awarded to the high money earner at the Northern Rodeo Association Finals. The award is presented by Tito’s Handmake Vodka which is also sponsoring the NRA Finals added money and the team roping heelers.

The NRA Finals presented by nuWest Builders is Oct. 24-26 in Kalispell. The top 10 in each event qualify for the Finals.

The Mountain Health Co-Op Tour continues with the Valley View Rodeo in Bozeman, August 22-23 with 7 p.m. performances each day.

The Jefferson County Rodeo in Boulder will have 6 p.m. performances on August 23 and 24.

The Wibaux County Fair and Rodeo is August 24 with a 7 p.m. performance while the Treasure State Rodeo in Chinook will have a 1 p.m. performance on August 25.