GETTING ROPED INTO A BUCKING GOOD WEEKEND

After two years in the waiting, the MSU Spring Rodeo made an exciting return last weekend at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds and kicked off the spring half of the rodeo season with four performances and two rounds of scoring. Rodeo fans flooded in for the events, selling out each evening performance and overflowing into the parking lot to catch a glimpse of the action from car rooftops and trailers.

MSU competed against six other colleges from around Montana and Wyoming over the weekend. The Bobcat Rodeo team seemed to pick up right where they left off in the fall, with both the men’s and women’s teams taking home first overall after Thursday and Friday’s first round.

“The team did have a great fall, but I do feel like they used some of that momentum this weekend to keep the ball rolling,” MSU Rodeo Head Coach Andy Bolich said. “It’s always nice when they can get off to a good start for the spring season and set the tone for the remaining three rodeos.”

The Bobcats swept the podiums for barrel racing, steer wrestling and the men’s all-around category along with huge first-place finishes like Keenan Kvamme securing first place in Bull Riding and the Faulkner brothers Jake and Cody, snagging the lead in team roping.

“It was great to finally host a rodeo in Bozeman again. It definitely felt different not being in the Brick Breeden though, but still good to have a rodeo and give the team a chance to compete,” Bolich said. “The season has been really different with Covid restrictions. Our college rodeos haven’t been the same with no fans or very limited at best.”

As the weekend stretched on, the competition kicked in with more outstanding performances from other schools such as Montana Western, whose men’s team took home first in the second set — beating the Bobcat men’s total score by 120 points. The Bulldog’s Brody Smith — currently ranked first in the Big Sky Region for bareback riding — dug in for two great bareback rides in the second rodeo, taking home yet another first-place finish on Sunday.

Though the second rodeo on Saturday jumped out the gate with several great bareback riders, the evening proved the most challenging with frigid temperatures rolling in alongside heavy snow and gusty winds.

“The weather was definitely tough and made conditions a lot harder with wind and snow,” Bolich said. “I was happy with the way our student-athletes overcame the challenges and didn’t let it affect their performance.”

After the success of the fall half of the season, Bolich and other college rodeo participants expect a smooth — though undoubtedly different — finish this spring, culminating in the national championships in Casper, Wyoming this June. Coach Bolich has big plans to get his team to Casper and back with more than a few buckles.

“The goal for the rest of the spring is to win as much as we possibly can each weekend,” Bolich said. “Also to win the Big Sky Region year-end championship men’s and women’s team titles. And the big goal is to go to the CNFR and win a national championship.”

Currently, the MSU men’s and women’s rodeo teams sit well in the lead in the Big Sky Region, giving them a great shot at yet again winning the regional crown before moving on to the national championships.

The MSU rodeo team has won a combined eight national team titles and 32 individual titles since 1949 (which was the first year with a national rodeo championship where alumnus Bob Sauke won first place in wild cow milking — an event as outrageous as it sounds). The women’s team hasn’t won a national title since 2011, and the men’s team hasn’t won one since 1995. With any luck, the Bobcats will come out of this strange season stronger than ever and tack on yet another few wins to the team’s storied history.