Rodeo more than just cowboys

Entertainment is nonstop at Northwest Montana Fair

People attend rodeos expecting to see certain things: young girls in shiny shirts and well-curled hair starting things off with a flag-waving turn around the arena; cowboys fighting for money and dignity by sticking for eight seconds to the back of a bucking horse; a clown in a barrel, being tossed around by a few of the crazier bulls.

There was plenty of that sort of action Thursday night at the Northwest Montana Fair rodeo, though all wasn't perfect.

The saddle broncs and bulls got the better of quite a few of the competitors, as many couldn't last through the eight seconds required to earn a score. For barrel-racing fans, it was disappointing that the competition was canceled after one racer slipped. (The event was rerun after the fireworks.)

But if the basics of rodeo don't always go smoothly, there always are other entertaining distractions.

"The Wild Child," also known as Troy Lerwill, kept the crowd laughing during lulls in the action, delays often created by an animal that refused to be corralled in a timely manner.

The 39-year-old from Utah doubled as a classic rodeo clown, trading barbs with announcer Bob Tallman throughout the course of the night, and a full-out entertainer, showing off some unexpected and impressive skill as a motorcycle stunt rider.

Lerwill once was a professional motocross racer, but now is devoted to rodeo, putting in about 180 rodeo performances a year. He has been named PRCA Entertainer of the Year three times.

During a short interview between acts, Lerwill had nothing but good to say about the event - the rodeo is in a "beautiful location, and the people here are fun," he said. He couldn't say much more - he was concerned that he was leaving "his good friend Bob" to fend for himself for too long.

But in the arena, Lerwill changed character, aiming at the "feminine" quality of the announcer's cowboy hat and at the many deficiencies of Texas, Tallman's home state.

The kinder, gentler side of the rodeo was found in people such as Miss Rodeo Montana, who stayed on her horse following the grand entry to help clear cattle from the arena.

After watching the competitors in the local pageant ride in for the opening, it was obvious that they weren't lacking for horsemanship skills. But a short talk with Miss Rodeo Montana revealed that members of rodeo royalty are much more than beauty queens on horseback.

Cassidy Han, a personable and articulate 22-year-old from Inverness, recently graduated from Carroll College with a degree in history. She plans to earn a doctorate in history and become a university professor, with an emphasis on research and writing about rodeo and the American West.

She will be competing for the Miss Rodeo America title in December. Though she acknowledges that wardrobe and appearance do carry weight in rodeo pageants, she plans on getting in some serious book sessions for the upcoming competition.

"There is so much studying involved," she said. "They'll ask about current events, government, worldwide events. You have to know rodeo and the equine industry inside and out. And you can get asked absolutely anything."

Royalty hopefuls also are judged on personality and on their skill with a horse. Montana requirements at the state level are especially daunting, Han said. They are given four patterns to memorize and then two are chosen for the competition. Making it harder, though, is that they draw for horses - no one is allowed to ride their own familiar steed, truly putting their horsemanship to the test.

Miss Rodeo Montana has spent her reigning year as a rodeo ambassador, making personal appearances statewide. Han estimates she has attended 25 to 30 rodeos this year, with this weekend serving as her summer rodeo finale.

Besides the pageants and barrel racing, the Northwest Montana Fair rodeo has presented young girls with another prospect for involvement.

They don't get to don sequins, but they do get to wear hockey helmets.

Following the bull riding Thursday, a new event was introduced - the miniature horse race. Three teams of three children, some as young as 6, were consecutively sent into the arena to "tame" a very wild miniature horse.

They were timed on how long it took to subdue a very small horse - wearing only a halter tied to a long rope - so that one of the team members could jump on its back. The task had to be completed in under a minute.

It was a girl who made the winning mount, though a boy in the final team drew the most applause. He stayed on the horse for a short stretch, flew over the front of the horse's head when the horse stopped abruptly, did a handspring and landed on his feet. And, as a fitting finale, the crowd went wild.

There is one last chance to catch all the above action, plus the finals in all events, when the Northwest Montana Fair rodeo wraps up tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.