BIGFORK — While the Bigfork Rodeo brings in talent from across the country, there is a pool of hometown riders who get to show off their skills in the area that raised them.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
In what is truly a unique spectacle in the rodeo world, the riders who come out to Bigfork put on their best performances to send the crowd home happy.
While the athletes from across the country show up to earn the highest score they can, riders like Callahan Otoupalik from St. Ignatius ride for their loved ones in the crowd.
“Growing up rodeoing, you tell all your friends about it and you tell your family about it and you tell everyone around you about it, but then you go and you rode all over the state and you're hardly ever close to home,” Otoupalik said. “So, it's really, really fun getting to come home and seeing so many familiar faces and seeing people in the crowd and having so much support, and I just appreciate everyone that comes and supports this rodeo.”
But she is not the only one who gets to show off for her home fans, as other western Montana riders do the same.
That includes Joe Wilder from Kalispell, who was a team roper for years before taking a long hiatus from the sport.
But the Bigfork Rodeo presented him with an opportunity to team up with someone important in his life.
“I quit for about 17 years and just started picking it back up because my daughter got into breakaway roping and team roping,” Wilder said. “I enjoy it, and I wanted to do something with my kid.”
For six months, Joe and his daughter Kinley have been roping together as a father-daughter duo.
While the throws are not always perfect, it is clear Kinley loves sharing the spotlight with her Dad.
“It's awesome roping with my dad because it gives us memories for the future,” Kinley said.
The 2025 Bigfork Rodeo concludes Tuesday night.
