Big rides, big money in Chinook

You know that when fair time hits around the Hi-Line, that the summer is almost halfway over. And nothing could have brought that point home more than the Bear Paw Roundup PRCA Rodeo, which was part of the Chinook fair this past weekend.

The Bear Paw Roundup, which is a sanctioned stop of the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit, invited some of the top cowboys and cowgirls from across the state and beyond to compete for both pride and prize money. Participants duked it out over the course of two nights in front of the patrons of the Blaine County Fair and in the end, they ended up putting on quite a show.

Of course, there are a number of exciting events at the rodeo, but maybe none are more fun to watch than the bull riding. This year, the cowboy who took home top honors in that category was Parker Breding, who posted a time of 83 to earn himself the top spot. Clay Applegate finished second and was the only other qualified finisher.

While there was lots of prize money to go around, no event produced more than the team roping, which was won by the duo of Tanner Patkze and Sid Sporer. The combo put together a time of 4.7 and walked away with $1,090.20 in prize money for their efforts.

The other first-place finishers at the Bear Paw Roundup included Blade Elliot, who won the bareback riding with 79 points, Chase Brooks, who won saddle bronc riding with 79 points as well and Chad Johnson, who won tie down roping with a time of 10.3. Kyle Callaway also captured first place in steer wrestling with a time of 4.0, and in barrel racing, Tenley Keller grabbed the top spot with a time of 17.74.

Bear Paw Roundup

Bareback Riding - 1. Blade Elliot, 79. $774.56; 2. Wyatt Maines, 75, $580.92; 3. Linden Woods, 73; $387.28; 4. Sykler Erickson, 70, $193.64.

Saddle Bronc Riding - 1. Chase Brooks, 79, $849.76; 2. Alan Gobert, 75, $637.32; 3. Wyatt Hurst, 74, $424.88; 4. Jake Costello, 72.5, $212.44.

Bull Riding - 1. Parker Breding, 83, $789.60; 2. Clay Applegate, 75; $592.20;

Tie Down Roping - 1. Chad Johnson, 10.3, $958.80; 2. Bill Boyce, 10.6, $719.10; 3. JR Lund, 11.3, $479.40; 4. Bryant Mikkelson, 12.0, $239.70.

Steer Wrestling - 1. Kyle Callaway, 4.0, $1,109.20; 2. Bridger Chambers, 4.5, $831.90; 3. Ross Eickhoff, 4.6, $554.60; 4. Noah Conway, 4.9, $277.30.

Team Roping - 1. Tanner Patkze/Sid Sporer, 4.7, $1,090.40; 2. Chaz Kananen/Shane Bessette, 5.1, $902.40; 3. Matt Kuttler/Ike Folsom, 5.1, $714.40; 4. Casey Tew/John Roberston, 5.9, $526.40; 5. Ben Ayre/Bill Ayre, 6.5, $338.40; 6. Miles Kobold/Justin Viles, 6.8,$188.00.

Barrel Racing - 1. Tenley Keller, 17.74, $752.37; 2. Diane McLean, 17.81, $654.24; 3. Darcy Mapston, 17.84, $556.1; 4. Emily Kallenberger, 17.85, $457.96;