Standings have familiar look

Standings have familiar look
7/22/26, 12:00 AM
By JOE KUSEK
The 2026 bareback standings sure look similar to the 2025 standings.
With one slight difference.
A year ago, Trevar McAllister capped off a terrific regular season with a spectacular NRA Finals presented by nuWest Builders.
The Ronan cowboy placed in all three rounds at Majestic Valley Arena, winning the final two with back-to-back 87-point rides and the average for $5,046, to pull away from the rest of the field for his first Northern Rodeo Association gold buckle.
McAllister earned $14,160, the second most for a single season in NRA history.
Part of that Finals field included younger brother Trapper, who finished second with $10,651 for 2025.
This year, its Trapper atop the leaderboard as the NRA and Northern Women’s Rodeo barrel into the second half of the regular season.
“Oh, it’s been pretty good,” said Trapper of his 2026. “I’ve gotten on quite a few good horses.”
McAllister opened with a win at Conrad and added victories at Harlowton, Ennis and Havre. He has also placed second at Gardiner and Shelby. His high-mark ride was an 86-point win in Ennis. McAllister also won at Harlowton and was fifth at Choteau during the Fourth of July. The $2,567 won in three performances solidified his lead at the top of the standings.
“It was really good,” he said of the Fourth of July. “It definitely gives a guy a bunch of confidence. I do feel like I’m riding better. I’ve always been able to ride, I’m just more consistent.”
Along with McAllister, there are six others from last year who qualified for the Finals. That includes Dalton May of Coram who is third in the standings and was third in 2025.
McAllister traveled with Trevar last year, the pair placing 1-2 at nine rodeos. “We cheer each other on,” said Trapper. Now sharing driving duties is younger brother Koy, sixth in the saddle bronc standings.
“I’m trying to get him to drive a little more,” said Trapper.
The rest of the summer will be filled with fencing and high-kicking horses.
“I like the ones that buck,” said the cowboy. “I just have to keep getting on bucking horses.”
Havre winners: Bareback, Trapper McAllister and Trevor Kay, Chester, Dalton May, Coram. Saddle bronc, Haskins. Bull riding, O’Shea. Steer wrestling, Sanborn. Tie-down roping, Nathan Ruth, Big Timber. Team roping, Preston Bird-Dylan Johnson. Barrel racing, Watson. Breakaway roping, Ruth. Junior barrel racing, Keller, Havre. Junior breakaway roping, Sinclair.
Three Forks winners: Bareback, May. Saddle bronc, Parker Mothershead, Joliet. Bull riding, Kobe Whitford, Browning. Steer wrestling, Jhet Murphy, Helena. Tie-down roping, Jade Gardner, Ballantine. Team roping, Ben Folsom-Ike Folsom, Jackson. Barrel racing, Lisa Warfield, Helena. Breakaway roping, Payton Levine, Wolf Creek. Junior barrel racing, Neill. Junior breakaway roping, Wilcox.
Shelby winners: Bareback, Kay. Saddle bronc, Hunter Haskins, Superior. Bull riding, No rides. Steer wrestling, Jack Cornwell, Glasgow. Tie-down roping, Quinn McQueary, Belgrade. Team roping, Mitch Detton-Willy Naminim Great Falls. Barrel racing, Celie Rogers, Choteau. Breakaway roping, Katelin Conway, Cut Bank. Junior barrel racing, Ryeitt Griffin, Corvallis. Junior breakaway roping, Cain Wilcox, Arlee.
