Great rides, great times at the Great Northern Rodeo

The Great Northern Ram Open Rodeo has been a two-day event in recent years, but this year, the rodeo fit everything into one day. Yet, even though all the action was packed into one night, there was absolutely no dip in the excitement level.

With great purses and in some events, the chance to enter twice, the Great Northern Ram Open Rodeo attracted high-caliber cowboys and cowgirls from across Montana to take part in the annual rodeo inside the arena at the Great Northern Fairgrounds.

None of the bull riders were able to ride long enough to score points, although a few came close, but there were still some stellar performances and some impressive payouts.

In terms of individual events, no one took home more from a single event than Kenneth Hawley, who was the only participant to score in the wild bronc ride, which earned him a handsome prize of $900. He rode 201 pothole and scored 63 points to win the buckle.

The other big payouts came in team roping. Shayne Bishop and Chris Barthlemess won the event with a time of 5.3, which allowed them to take home $1,428 in prize money. Second place went to Shawn Bird and Jesse Fleming, who won $1,173 and winding up in third was the team of Dennis Barta and Jade Nystrom, who won $918.

The other events that offered the most in terms of prize money were the ladies barrel racing and ladies breakaway roping. Tawnie Tribby won $629 by taking first in the barrel racing, while the top spot in breakaway roping went to Cierra Kunesh, who captured first with a time of 2.73. She won $623 for her efforts. Katelin Conway was second in breakaway roping and Havre's own Casey Solomon was third.

"Overall, I thought that we had a really great turnout," said Solomon, one of the rodeo's organizers. "I thought everything went pretty well, we had a really great crowd and it was a great evening."

In terms of her own personal performance, Solomon said it made the night even more satisfying.

"It felt good to put on a good rodeo," she said. "And then when you luck out and end up in the money, too, it's a pretty good feeling."

The other winners on the night including Taylen Nelson, who tied with Alan Gobert for first in saddle bronc riding. Both cowboys finished with 75 points. They split the top prize and each won $315. In steer wrestling, Caiden Whitebeard posted the top time of 3.95. He won $320 and in tie-down roping, Marty Watson found the winner's circle, winning $374 after a time of 10.39.

In the junior events, Mary Gibson was the big winner as she was the only cowgirl to post a time in junior breakaway roping. She finished with a mark of 6.77 and won $325 in prize money. The other junior title went to Talyssa Horn, who won $178 after finishing first in the junior barrel race.

Of the 13 participants that competed in bull riding, none scored, but Connor Murnion came closest, riding for 7.84 seconds before being bucked off just short of the mark.

Great Northern Open Rodeo

Wild bronc riding - 1. Kenneth Hawley, 63, $900.

Team roping - 1. Shayne Bishop/Chris Barthlemess, 5.3, $1,428; 2. Shawn Bird/Jessie Fleming, 6.26, $586; 3. Dennis Barta/Jade Nystrom, 6.79, $918; 4. Shane Schwenke/Jesse Fleming, 6.8, $663; 5. Nolan Conway/Jim Cole, 7.15, $408; 6. George Marcenko/Jerome Bill, 7.3, $255; 7. Jim Duvall/Dakota Schweers, 10.9, $255; 8. Josh Granell/Tucker Hould, 10.9, $255.

Saddle bronc riding - 1. Taylen Nelson, 75, $315; 1. Alan Gobert, 75, $315; 3. Andrew Evejene, 70, $210; 4. Colby Kittson, 68, $138.5; 5. Connor Murnion, 67, $73.5.

Tie-down roping - 1. Marty Watson, 10.39, $374; 2. Jay Billingsley, 12.34, $286; 3. Nolan Conway, 13.33, $220; 4. Shane Knerr, 13.77, $143.

Steer wrestling - 1. Caiden Whitebear, 3.95, $320; 2. Caiden Whitebeard, 4.57, $240; 3. Daylin Wingard, 7.83, $160; 4. Nolan Conway, $80.

Ladies barrel race - 1. Tawnie Tribby, 17.9, $629; 2. Heather Knerr, 18.2, $481; 3. Kylie Muluski, 18.3, $370; 4. Una Ford, 18.4, $370; 5. Kelsey Hanson, 18.5, $129.

Ladies breakaway roping - 1. Cierra Kunesh, 2.71, $623.5; 2. Katelin Conway, 3, $516; 3. Casey Solomon, 3.1, $408; 4. Tara Novak, 3.3, $301; 5. Shanda Armstrong, 3.4, $193; 6. Amber Crowley, 3.47, $107.

Junior barrel race - 1. Talyssa Horn, 18.6, $178; 2. Kristen Kittson, 18.6, $133.5; 3. Nyis Colliflower, 18.6, $89; 4. Allee Bartlet, 18.9, $44.5.

Junior breakaway roping - 1. Mary Gibson, 6.77, $325.