Swan Valley resident Laciey Auchenbach riding a steer at the annual Helmville Rodeo Sept. 4. She didn't make the buzzer but as Rodeo Announcer Joe Warner said, "By golly, it wasn't for lack of effort."
Skylar rides her sheep through the flock during the Mutton Busting.
Jackson Stephens of Corvallis ropes his calf in the Tie Down Roping. He finished in 12 seconds for third place earning $286.70.
Alison Kilpatrick heads around the final barrel of the 11 to 15-year-old Local Barrel Racing. She finished in 37.52 seconds.
Cameron Falcon of Cut Bank comes off a bull. No bull riders made it to the buzzer this year.
Choteau's Garret Yeager leaps from his horse onto a steer. He took it down in 8 seconds earning third place and $264.14.
Mylee Corcoran rounds the second barrel in the 11 to 15-year-old Local Barrel Racing.
HELMVILLE - As the Helmville Rodeo approaches the 60-year mark, Helmville Rodeo Club President Bill Baker is confident of one thing, "I always say this is the biggest little rodeo in Montana."
This Labor Day weekend, the event that has been pulling in competitors and rodeo fans from around Montana since 1964, was bigger than ever in its 58th year, as locals and tourists packed into the seats for barrel racing, bull riding, bronc riding and roping events as a surge in temperatures "kept it warm," said Baker.
Connie Weaver, Helmville Rodeo Secretary, and daughter of former rodeo president Dutch Weaver said that the club was "ready for the huge crowd."
"The pandemic has changed things," she agreed, noting that Montana's short summers have everyone eager to enjoy outdoor events with friends and family while they can. "People want to go out now," she said, while repairing a fence with her dad, as she took last-minute calls from competitors signing up on Wednesday.
"The rodeo here has been a gathering place - definitely a reunion for people around here."
Baker, who has been in the Helmville area for 40 years and has served as rodeo president for the last seven, said it's been exciting to see the event go from a small town gathering, to a Northern Rodeo Association (NRA) rodeo, bringing in talent from around the west.
The Helmville Rodeo used to be "local and small," Baker said, but since becoming part of the NRA circuit, it's changed and expanded in a good way.
There are 10 active members of the rodeo club who work on organizing the event through the year, though more come on board through the summer as the Labor Day weekend approaches, he said.
Long-time rodeo club member David Mannix, whose family has been ranching in the Helmville area since 1882, remembered the community dance - a big part of the rodeo weekend - always bringing families and young people to the dance floor.
Back when he was growing up, the band was homegrown - his father played the banjo, his mother played piano, and if they were lucky, there was a guitar and a drum as well.
"It would be kids running around or sleeping under the benches as their parents danced," he remembered. "Pat Geary would sometimes be playing the piano too and she was just beautiful with a lot of flair. It's a bigger crowd now."
Mannix said it's been rewarding to watch the Helmville weekend go from being a "rancher-led" rodeo to a professional event. Though this doesn't stop it from being a homecoming for many people who have moved out of the area.
"Some people come back for the rodeo - but a lot of people come back and buy a ticket and a hamburger and just hang out behind the grandstand just to visit and catch up."
The annual rodeo was a big part of the Helmville culture and a highlight for him - aside from watching his grandkids compete in the mutton bustin' event - was seeing all the effort that had been put into the rodeo pay off.
"The fact that the community is still willing to go to all that work to put this on is a highlight," Mannix said. "We want to keep it going."
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