PRO RODEO: Montana’s biggest one-day rodeo highlights Augusta weekend
Lee Vernoy
Only a pandemic could put the brakes on what has been billed as the biggest one-day rodeo in the state of Montana.
Otherwise, neither rain, nor sleet, nor flood, or gloom of night could keep this annual event from happening the last Sunday in June.
The 85th Augusta American Legion PRCA Rodeo is set for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. (slack will be at 5 Saturday) at Augusta's famed American Legion Rodeo Grounds, serving as the perfect cap on a fun-filled weekend in this town of 238 friendly folks.
"The rodeo was run every year since 1937 ... except for one," rodeo director Ben Arps told the Tribune. "We had to postpone it due to the flood in 2018 and go the middle of July.
"And in 2020, we just didn't run it at all (because of the COVID-19 pandemic)."
Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and the Montana Tourism Advisory Council named it Montana's Tourism Event of the Year back in 2005. Needless to say, they're doing something right.
This year's daysheet with the rodeo lineup was not available as of Friday afternoon, but Arps said that longtime rodeo announcer Barney Sheridan of Arlee would be back for another year behind the microphone, while the specialty act turned out to be a last-minute choice.
Felix Santana and his dancing horses – an Andalusian Stallion – is a third-generation dancing horse trainer, learning the art by watching his uncle's performances with trained dancing horses in Southern California.
The weekend's festivities (the weekend's theme is "Love, Freedom, and Rock & Roll") will start with live music at the Lazy B Friday night. Saturday's Wapiti Run starts with the 3K race at 8:30 a.m., followed by the 5K at 9 and the one-mile at 10:15, then the parade starts at 2, with rodeo slack at 5 p.m. at the rodeo grounds.
The will be plenty of food and vendors throughout town both Saturday and Sunday, with Allen's Manix Store (AKA The Trading Post) serving their world famous tacos, burgers, etc., on the side of the store. Finally, a street dance caps off Saturday's entertainment.