Whitefish cowboy putting in miles for love of rodeo

With his sunglasses and cowboy hat, Bart Slaney smiles from his arena-side table as a capacity crowd begins to fill the stands of the Bigfork Summer Rodeo last Wednesday.

After a year away from the sport in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Whitefish cowboy is excited to see the rodeo world returning to the way it was before the virus shut everything down.

“Rodeo is a fun time and it brings people out, especially now at a time when so many of us were feeling isolated,” Slaney said. “Rodeos are fun events that bring people together that might not have seen each other in a while. We are ready to get the world back to normal.”

A competitor in the steer-wrestling and team-roping events, Slaney has a long history in the rodeo, going back to his childhood days watching his father on the circuit while growing up in Toronto, South Dakota.

“Naturally, I got into the rodeo scene as well,” Slaney said. “We had horses growing up, so it was a natural fit.”

As early as age 8, Slaney was competing in local 4-H rodeos in events such as breakaway roping, steer riding and other youth events before graduating to events such as steer wrestling, team roping and roughstock riding in high school. As a senior in high school, he stepped away from riding bulls and began focusing on his favorite events, the ones he still competes in today at age 40.

“I really enjoy the competition and camaraderie,” he said about team roping and steer wrestling. “Both of the events I do are team events, so I can’t do them by myself. Having to work with and getting to know others makes it that much more fun.”

SLANEY WAS competing in rodeos while working in telecommunications for BNSF Railway in Mandan, North Dakota, when he saw a photo of the Whitefish area in the snow and immediately knew that was where he wanted to live. When he learned BNSF had an opening in Whitefish, he asked for a transfer. It was a move he has never regretted.

“I was hooked and I have been here ever since,” he said. “Once you have seen the beauty here, it’s hard to get away from it.”

Whitefish was Slaney’s home base in 2019 as he found time to squeeze in 42 rodeos across the West in states such as California, Nevada, Texas and others while also keeping up with his full-time job with the railroad.

Uniquely, Slaney travels to these rodeos without a horse of his own, opting instead to borrow mounts from friends and other competitors at each competition.

“This way, I get to go down the road and meet new people. If I can win a little, then word spreads and it’s easier for me to find people who will let me ride their horse,” Slaney said. “Obviously, consistency is key and you want to have everything the same, but with a little communication with the horse owners, I am able to make it work. I have had it happen where the person I have asked to borrow a horse from pulls out of the rodeo for one reason or another and they forgot to get ahold of me. Situations like that are pretty tough.”

After traveling more than 50,000 miles to and from rodeos in 2019, Slaney says being on the road is fun, but nothing beats coming back home.

“I enjoy the traveling, but it’s always nice to get back home to Montana after an out-of-state rodeo,” he said. “Other places have beauty of their own, but nothing is quite like Montana. That’s why I am here and why I plan to stay here.”

Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at 758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com.