RED LODGE — Last year's floods caused a dip in the tourism season in Carbon County, meaning events like the Home of Champions Rodeo in Red Lodge are more important than ever for the town's economy.
The director of the Red Lodge Chamber of Commerce, Sherry Weamer, explained the annual three-day event is crucial to the town during the Fourth of July holiday.
“We are a seasonal community. So making some money now and having a good summer affords the businesses downtown to get through the leaner times of the year," Weamer said on Monday. "So yeah, we’re excited to have a great holiday. The Fourth is so fun."
Weamer took a look at the dollar amount the rodeo brings into the mountain town.
"I ran the non-resident numbers, so not even counting the people that live here or even in Billings, it brings in over the four days $3.175 million," Weamer said. "So we really count on it for our community. We make all of our money now and it pulls us through the shoulder season."
It's a tradition that dates back decades.
"It started here in 1929 and it was downtown. We brought the grounds up here in 1932 and have been going strong for 94 years. We are a real traditional rodeo, the cowboys love coming here because we haven’t made it commercial yet,” said Stacie Nardinger, the secretary for the Red Lodge Rodeo Association, on Monday. “With our new stand capacity, we can seat 6,200. We were standing room only (Sunday night). I bet we were pushing around 7,000 and that’s really common."
This is good news for the town following last June's floods.
“Last year with the floods happening and the revenue from the event still going, the business alliance downtown said without us, they wouldn’t have made it," said Phillip Nardinger, the president of the Home of Champions Rodeo, on Monday. “We donate back to every 4H, FFA, rodeos. The amount of money is staggering, what we give out to the community. I believe the grand total was over $40,000 last year that we gave away."
Stacie added the rodeo committee spent some time assisting in recovery efforts following the floods.
"Our committee, for one of our work days, we went downtown and instead of working on our grounds we went and helped people down there," Stacie said, referring to last June. "So it’s really important to the community, it’s important for the businesses downtown. We also brought in a couple of other events that use our grounds, and that is vital to support everybody in downtown Red Lodge."
Stacie urges everyone to come to check it out at the Red Lodge Rodeo Grounds.
One competitor in the bareback riding event, Nick Pelke, said he was thrilled to be in a town celebrating the culture he loves.
“It’s awesome. They always support," Pelke said. "Anybody that supports the rodeo world or the cowboy way of life, well that’s great for us and everybody else in this life. So I guess, for anything, I guess it’s good for the culture."
Which is exactly what the rodeo organizers hope for.
"It’s part of our mission statement to give back. It’s also part of our mission statement to protect the Western way of life and to raise our kids in that same lifestyle," Stacie said. "And so it’s embraced very well, especially in our agricultural communities."
To learn more about the Home of Champions Rodeo, click here.
“Thank you to the rodeo crew. They put on a great show," Weamer said. "The Home of Champions Rodeo is a world-class event, and I just invite everybody to come and enjoy the evening."
