Mission Mountain Rodeo brings PRCA action to Polson

By Trent Makela / Leader Staff

It's time to find that cowboy hat in the attic, pull your boots out of storage and pretend you grew up on a ranch like a "typical Montanan". The Mission Mountain PRCA Rodeo will return to the Polson Fairgrounds for a fifth straight year this Friday and Saturday.

Several local cowboys and cowgirls are hoping that their friends and family from Lake County can help them get in the money for the weekend. At least, they hope the hometown crowd won't carry a jinx.

"They always say the hometown rodeo's the hardest. I'd like to hopefully overcome those assumptions," Ronan calf-roper Donnie Benson said. "A lot of my job is up to the calves, but it helps if you've got a good horse. That's most of the battle."

Benson took home nearly $800 in prize money after snagging the best time in tie-down roping at the PRCA event in Vaughn last weekend. He also placed in the Gardner rodeo on the prior weekend and was just one spot out of qualifying for the national college rodeo after his senior season with the University of Montana-Western team from Dillon. Benson credits his recent success to a new horse he recently purchased from a friend and "just getting good calves".

There's still some new-rodeo shine on the PRCA label for the Mission Mountain event, but the Polson arena has long been an important stop on the Montana rodeo circuit. A steady stream of rodeos had found their way to Polson after donated land was used to build the current facility in the early 1940s.

"The arena is juts a beautiful spot to sit in the grandstands and see all of the scenery with the lake and the Mission Mountains in the background," rodeo committee member Una Rose Graham said. "It's just a unique place compared to other rodeo grounds. Then there's the rodeo itself, of course."

Youth events will kick off the action each night at 7 p.m. with mutton busting and mini bull riding. The PRCA cowboys and cowgirls will begin their action at 8 p.m. on both days.

The stock for this year's rodeo will be supplied by the JS Rodeo Company from Belt. Rocky Mountain Mini Buckers from St. Ignatius will supply the miniature bulls for the kids.

Hosting a PRCA event is an expensive undertaking for a Polson-sized community, with roughly $40,000 needed each year. An impressive mix of local business and individuals have combined with corporate sponsors to support this year's event, according to Graham.

"There's no way this event could happen without the support of the community and they should all be proud of themeselves," Graham said.