Polson prepares to host it's 79th annual Mission Valley rodeo

The Polson Fairgrounds has become a fixture in the rodeo world over the past 79 years.

During the early days of Polson rodeo, many of the top cowboys, from the then Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit, used to come to Polson, in an attempt to move up the rodeo circuit.

Polson, which now hosts a National Rodeo Association-sanctioned event will still have plenty of talented regional, and national cowboys and cowgirls to showcase at the 79th annual NRA Rodeo Friday and Saturday at the Polson Faigrounds.

With many of the cowboys, traveling to various NRA-sanctioned events, on the weekends, and devoting the majority of their time to their full-time jobs on the weekdays, the Polson rodeo has become a family-oriented event, according to Fairgrounds secretary and treasurer Una Rose Graham.

“At the (NRA-level) there is a lot of cowboys holding down jobs, and competing with their family on the weekend,” Graham said. “There are a lot of families that travel together to compete at these rodeos throughout the state, and there are about 15 or 16 (NRA-sanctioned events) throughout this state during the summertime.”

This year’s rodeo will be a qualifying event for the NRA Finals scheduled to be held in Kalispell’s Majestic Arena Oct. 24-26.

“This is a qualifying event, and (the cowboys, and cowgirls) are competing for money,” Graham said. “The more money they win, the more they can put themselves in competition to make the finals.”

The NRA-sanctioned rodeo will have include youth events such as mutton bustin’, mini bull riding & pony mini buckers. And the rodeo itself will have bareback, steer wrestling, saddle bronc, team roping, tie-down roping, ladies and youth barrel racing, ladies and youth breakaway roping, and bull riding.

Tickets will be $10 for adult, $5 for children under 12, and will be available at the gate, with no pre-sale tickets — food, beverage, and beer garden concessions available.

The rodeo will also have guests such as Grace Zitzer, and a Friday night performance by country artist Miller Campbell.

The house Les Baldwin built

Una Rose Graham described Les Baldwin, the man responsible for bringing a rodeo to Polson, as a very determined individual.

“(Baldwin) took advantage of the opportunity to have a nice rodeo grounds here,” Graham said. “He put in a great effort to build this venue that is for sure, and we can always be thankful for his efforts.”

Throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s, many of the top-tier cowboys in the world at that time, came through Polson.

“They would come (to Polson) as a place in between Cheyenne (Wyoming) and Calgary, and they would stop here on their way up there,” Graham said. “They did that from the 40s to into the 1960s.”

The legacy former rodeo promoter Les Baldwin left on the city of Polson, and its rodeo culture can be felt long after his passing in 1978.

Baldwin left more than just the Polson Fairgrounds named in his honor; he built the active rodeo culture that still exists in Polson today.

Baldwin also paved the way for several Cowboys and Cowgirls, who began their rodeo career’s right here in Polson, according to his long-time nephew and current Polson resident Jim Duford.

A couple of years ago Duford took a trip to the Oklahoma City National Cowboys Hall Of Fame and was astonished when he realized the majority of the Cowboys immortalized in the Hall of Fame were contestants at Les Baldwin’s National Rodeo Association Rodeo years ago.

“I thought I better start doing something to see if I could get him fully recognized for all that he did in building the Fairgrounds,” Duford said. “I started to getting in contact with the Montana Hall Of Fame and started working with executive director Christy Stensland a couple of years ago.”

Today the Polson Fairgrounds still hosts several rodeos during the spring and summer season and rodeo season in the Mission Valley are commemorated with Polson’s annual Cowboy Ball that begins in late-April.

The Cowboy Ball is just the precursor of the rodeo festivities that will take place in Polson and the Mission Valley throughout the summer.

The Polson Fairgrounds will have a National Rodeo Association sanctioned event that will take place on June 28-29.

The rodeo will include youth events such as Mutton Bustin’, Mini Bull Riding, Bareback, Steer Wrestling, Saddle Bronc, Team Roping, Tie Down Roping, youth bull riding, ladies and youth breakaway roping and bull riding, according to the Polson Fairgrounds website.