By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
Editor’s note: Big Sky PBR is produced by Outlaw Partners, publisher of Explore Big Sky.
It may not be their first rodeo, but it sure was their first Big Sky PBR. As fans strolled into the general admission and VIP areas for the third and final night of Big Sky PBR, some were excited to see the sport in the intimate, mountain-surrounded Big Sky Events Arena for the first time.
The annual event is an opportunity for people to not only watch cowboys hold on to world-renowned bucking bulls for a difficult eight seconds, it’s also a way to celebrate life events. One crew from Oregon traveled to the Big Sky PBR to celebrate their mom’s 60th birthday and were hard to miss—three of the men in their group wore matching shirts with a print of a cowboy on a bucking horse.
While her husband Matt gathered the trio for a photo, Lydia Shepard-Kiser described what it’s like to see PBR up close.
“This feels like a small town rodeo, and yet it’s PBR, so it’s a little bit of a juxtaposition,” Shepard-Kiser said. She’d been to a PBR event before, but sat in the nosebleeds of the indoor Moda Center in Portland. This time around, she and her family would get to see the competition with a more “local vibe.”
As clouds passed over Lone Mountain, Shepard-Kiser noted the surroundings. “I mean, just the setting … it’s ridiculous. It’s unreal, you know?”
Two friends seated at the bleachers facing the bull chutes were also at Big Sky PBR for the first time. From Florida, Jessinda Carwile and Ella Shannon have been friends for four years and go to high school together.
They spent the weekend outdoors and going to lakes, with Carwile showing Shannon the sights during her first visit to the state.
“I love the scenery here,” Shannon said. “It’s beautiful.”
The girls weren’t sure exactly what to expect out of the event—but they were eager to see some bull riding.
“We’re just excited,” Carwile said.
A bit closer to home, the Hawthorne family from Bozeman enjoyed the first half of the event and grabbed some snacks before heading out to the bleachers for the remainder of the bull rides, where EBS found them. The parents, Jim and Andrea Hawthorne, have lived in Bozeman for around 30 years and had been to rodeos in Livingston and Big Timber before. They said the energy of the crowd and the people on the dirt—from riders to wranglers—was thrilling.
“We love the announcers, the rodeo hosts, everybody handles it really well,” Jim said. Andrea agreed.
“I love just the whole spirit, atmosphere of it,” Andrea said.
As the night came to a close, one rider soared above the rest, ending with a 349-point aggregate score across all three nights. Brady Fielder of Australia took first place ahead of Alan de Souza of Brazil with 341 total points and Daniel Keeping of the U.S. with 339.50.
As soon as bull riding concluded, Chancey Williams—who also helped wrangle bulls on the dirt Saturday—switched reins for a guitar to close Big Sky’s 14th PBR weekend.
