The Mountain States Ranch Rodeo Finals in Montrose, Colo., will feature a number of horse events, Muttin Bustin’ and Chancey Williams & the Younger Brothers Band to accompany the main event.

The MSRR is a three-day event with two days of finals action. There will be 16 teams competing for the top spot in the second year of a Mountain States Ranch Rodeo series. The series consisted of 11 initial sanctioned rodeos, some of which were rained out, with Sept. 8 and 9 as the final event of the series. The ranch rodeo finals will be at the Montrose County Fairground, 1011 N. 2nd St. in Montrose. The weekend concludes with Cowboy Church at 9 a.m. Sept. 10.

With 16 teams, the finals were expanded to two days, with eight teams competing in three of the five events Friday night and the remaining eight teams in two events. On Saturday, the teams complete the rest of the events.

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“It’s an ongoing, two-day event where you won’t know where anyone is at because they’ll be competing each day,” said Kent Wollert, one of the founders of the Mountain States Ranch Rodeo.

Wollert and Doug Roberts, both of whom live in Montrose, founded MSRR three years ago. Wollert is a third-generation rancher, and owns Alpine Ranch, Wollert Automotive and Big Country Trailers. He’s also a cowboy at heart. He grew up participating in ranch rodeos. Alpine Ranch will be one of the teams competing this year after last year’s second place finish.

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“(Fans) won’t be disappointed. It will be a real honor for us to have a full stand at the rodeo,” Wollert said.

Roberts owns New West Marketing and operates 4R Chuckwagon. The chuckwagon played a part in bringing Wollert and Roberts together to start the ranch rodeo. Roberts needed a new trailer for it, and went to Wollert’s lot to buy one. That’s when the two talked about bringing a ranch rodeo to Montrose.

“Kent is the driver of the ranch rodeo,” Roberts said. “He was the genesis of putting the Mountain States Ranch Rodeo together.”

Ranch rodeos are a bit different than what people are used to. Rather than individuals competing against one another, ranches are represented by a team of workers that compete in events such as branding or other activities common on ranches.

The MSRR hosts more than just the ranch rodeo, though. There’s Muttin Bustin’, a working cow horse clinic, a Ranch Rodeo Calcutta and a draft horse presentation.

2016 WINNERS

According to the MSRR website, last year’s winners were the Lazy 3X team. The team, from Mack, Colo., won $7,5000, and of course, buckles, and the members included Bill Martin, Josh Nicklas, Michael Baleztena, Kane Hill and Mark Hill.

The second place team was Alpine Ranch and the third place team was the San Luis Valley Riders. Team members were from Olathe, Colo., and LaJarra, Colo., respectively. The second place team won $4,500 and custom headstalls while third place received $3,000.

Lazy 3X’s Nicklas also won the Jerry Cobb Top Hand Memorial Award. It was the first year the award was given out in honor of Cobb, who was a big part of getting MSRR started, and was known for being a “strong fixture in the community,” Roberts said. The award goes to the best all-around cowboy who embodies both great skills and good character. ENTERTAINMENT

On Sept. 9, following the ranch rodeo final, Chancey Williams & the Younger Brothers Band will perform. This will be the first year a performance will take place in the arena for the ranch rodeo. Williams is a Wyoming cowboy who is one of two people to compete and perform as a major entertainer at Cheyenne Frontier Days. The band’s debut album, “Honky Tonk Road” was released in 2008, and it released its third album this past May.

NEW EVENT

One new event at MSRR is a Western Heritage Expo. Agriculture and ranching will be showcased in a number of ways including featured businesses and service providers. All of the businesses and service providers are connected to the agriculture sector at the local and national level. It’s a way to celebrate and feature the industry, which is the biggest in the Central Western Slope region and includes Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel counties.

“ In many communities … the legacy contributions of ranching and agriculture sometimes begins to be overlooked as communities seek to develop tourism that’s a little more outdoor activity based or they seek to attract manufacturing and retail, but in (this region), agriculture’s the biggest industry we have here,” Roberts said. ❖

­— Fox is a reporter for The Fence Post. She can be reached at sfox@thefencepost.com, (970) 392-4410 or on Twitter @FoxonaFarm.