Welcome to the family nuWest Builders.

Welcome to the family nuWest Builders.

The Whitefish-based company, which designs and builds custom luxury homes, has signed on to be the sponsor of the Northern Rodeo Association Finals.

The NRA Finals, the organization’s premier event, will now be known as the NRA Finals presented by nuWest Builders.

“I’m ecstatic,” said NRA president Joe Warner. “We’ve proven we have got the talent and have the stock. This will take us up in production and payoff. Our added money is going to go up.”

“It’s a big positive step for us to have a presenting sponsor for the Finals.”

The Finals for the 2023 season return Oct. 26-28 to Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell.

The three-day rodeo features the top 10 qualifiers from each event and determines the year-end champions from the Mountain Health Co-op Tour during the regular season.

The 2023 season begins in Conrad on June 2 with the annual Whoop-Up Trail Days Rodeo.

The newest sponsor is owned by Eric Payne. A roper himself, Payne attended the NRA Finals last year and left impressed, according to Warner.

“He’s western minded,” Warner said.

NuWest Builders offers design and build services for both residential and commercial properties. The company has experts in architecture, interior design and building available to buyers.

Along with building high-end homes across the booming Flathead Valley, the company has built homes in nine different states and Canada.

The NRA and Northern Women’s Rodeo Association will sanction 29 rodeos during the summer across the state. Rodeos will be held from Eureka to Wibaux, from Opheim to Ennis.

Last year, the Mountain Health Co-op Tour paid out more than a half-million dollars during the regular season. Competitors pocketed an additional $105,000 during the pulse-pounding NRA Finals.

Along with the traditional rodeos returning, new to the schedule is the Calamity Rough Stock Classic, August 19-20 in Livingston.

The same committee members also staged the popular PRCA Livingston Round-Up during the Fourth of July run.

Back on the schedule after a two-decade hiatus is the Sheridan Saddle Club Rodeo in Plentywood on July 28.

The NRA’s Fourth of July schedule again features Harlowton (July 2-3), Ennis (July 3-4) and Choteau (July 3-4) with East Helena on their heels July 7-8.

NuWest Builder is one of many sponsors wanting to be part of one of the United States' most stable and well-known rodeo organizations.

Recent world champions Ty Erickson of Helena (steer wrestling) and Haven Meged of Miles City (tie-down roping) got their start in the NRA, along with two-time Professional Bull Riders world champion Jess Lockwood of Volborg. Lockwood won two NRA bull riding titles before bursting into national prominence.

Seven-time world champion Dan Mortensen of Billings, immortalized by a bronze sculpture in front of First Interstate Arena, began his saddle bronc ride to stardom in the NRA, along with three-time world champion team roper Clay Tryan of Shepherd. Tryan is Montana’s winningest cowboy for PRCA earnings.

Cadee (Tew) Williams, who won the National Finals Breakaway Roping average title last December in Las Vegas, is a multi-time NWRA champion, winning her first title at the age of nine.

“Rodeo, it’s keeping the tradition. It’s the wholesomeness of the event,” said Warner. “We haven’t changed at all. It’s the same show grandpa and grandma would have watched.”

“We’re traditional and people are craving that.”