Scenes from a Bucking Horse Futurity
By BEN PIERCE Chronicle Outdoors
There is nothing like hitting Montana’s small town rodeos in the summer.
This past weekend, on a road trip to Lake Koocanusa, I was fortunate enough to catch the Bucking Horse Futurity in Eureka, a small ranching and timber town a stone’s throw from the Canadian border.
Before setting north from Bozeman last Thursday evening, I checked all my favorite sources for community activities. While the Libby, Troy and Yaak chamber of commerce websites had great relocation info, community events were limited. With the exception of a senior citizens meeting and a Cabinet View Fire Department reading at Rosauers, there wasn’t much going on.
I guess that’s what attracted me to Montana’s great northwest in the first place, but I’m always on the lookout for fun events.
Following the Clark Fork north from Thompson Falls on Highway 200, I pulled into a little roadside stop to pick up some catsup and hotdog buns. There, blazon on the cedar siding like a wanted poster, was an announcement for the Bucking Horse Futurity complete with buckin’ bronc and cowboy.
Now, Noxon isn’t exactly close to Eureka – it’s about 125 miles away – and May isn’t exactly summer – but on a weekend trip with the sole purpose of exploring Montana, this was an event not to be missed.
With a new plan in mind, we ambled along the Clark Fork and Route 56 north to Troy. We spent the night camped at Libby Dam and then headed north for some fishing up the Yaak River, finally crossing the Koocanusa Bridge to Rexford, a small town just west of Eureka, on Saturday night.
Last weekend was Victoria Day and hordes of campers from British Columbia and Alberta flooded the Rexford campground. With the exception of our own, I didn’t see a single Montana license plate in the entire campground.
That changed as soon as we arrived in Eureka. The Lincoln County Fairgrounds sit in the narrow Tobacco Valley at the base of the Whitefish Mountains. From the grandstands the Canadian Rockies rise in the distance above Lake Koocanusa.
After holding hat in hand for both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems, the first horse burst loose from the chutes. The small crowd of just a few hundred roared as the cowboy held on tight and the horse crashed into the arena fence.
Ah, rodeo in Montana.
It’s going to be a good summer.
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