Montana Rodeos Begin to Heat Up During Mid-August Push

August is home to many great rodeos in the Montana circuit, and while most of the competition headed to the Northwest, plenty of action remained in Big Sky Country.

Rodeo Billings – Billings, MT

The bronc riding events in Billings were electric, to say the least. With two new area records set on Saturday night, the performance at Metapark was a memorable one for both fans and athletes alike.

Wyatt Warneke marked a 91 on Pickett Pro Rodeo Co.’s Boot Barn’s Night Crawler to win his circuit rodeo. That 91 marked the highest score of the permit holder’s professional career, highlighting the bright future Warneke has ahead.

In the saddle bronc riding, Statler Wright went 90.5 at Metrapark for his first trip aboard J Bar J Pro Rodeo’s Blessed Assurance to set a new arena record as well.

The ladies at Rodeo Billings showed up and showed out as well. Tayla Moekens and her gelding, Yeti, crossed the finish line in 17.11 seconds, edging out the competition by four hundredths of a second.

Down at the roping chutes, spectators saw two cowgirls finish at the top of the leaderboard. Rylee George and Georgia Orahooh both roped their calves in 2.0 seconds flat.

Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo – Kalispell, MT

Montana cowboy, Newt Novich, claimed the top spot in the steer wrestling with a time of 5.0 seconds to help move him farther up into the Montana circuit standings.

The flag dropped for Riley and Brady Minor at the 6.0-second mark for the quickest time of the rodeo in the team roping.

Cash Trexler bested an experienced tie-down roping field by a tenth of a second to win his home state rodeo with a 9.4-second run.

NFR tie-down roper Beau Cooper clinched the all-around title in Kalispell after winning $3,278 in the tie-down roping and team roping events.

McCone County Fair PRCA Rodeo – Circle, MT

Circuit cowgirl Tycie Phalen ran the fastest time of the weekend in Circle with a 16.96-second run. Her sub-17-second run blew the rest of the competition out of the water, with the closest time to Phalen being a 17.34 clocked by 2021 NFR qualifier Molly Otto.

Jayco Roper and J Bar J ProRodeo’s Majestically Blest paired off well, resulting in an 86.5-point ride for the number one spot.

In the bull riding, Tahj Wells rode J Bar J Prorodeo’s Little Blondie for 83.5 points to get the win.

Kaeley Hutchison captured the win in the breakaway with the fastest run of her 2026 season, roping her calf in 1.9 seconds.