Snow Rodeo brings fun to Great Divide

Our snow is quickly melting away, but that didn't stop area cowboys and cowgirls from taking advantage of some of the white stuff during the second-ever Montana Snow Rodeo held at Great Divide.

Some cowboys say they have no problem getting into an arena with a 2,000 pound bull, but they say they're a little nervous to put on some skies and plow down a mountain.

"I'd just like to get through it. I know what I'm going to expect there. This, I don't have no idea what's going to happen," retired steer wrestler Steve Blixt told us.

About 25 rodeo athletes navigate obstacles and rope fake cattle while heading downhill, with some saying they hadn't put on a pair of skis in over 10 years.

The youngest rodeo competitors participating are only five and six years old and event coordinators said that the competition is about having fun in a different type of competitive environment.

"We just try to tie the skiing and rodeo heritage together. I mean, it's a pretty deep heritage in Montana with those two," G.D. Marketing Coordinator David Whitmoyer explained.

Spectators watched from the deck where there is a barbecue and country music playing all day with one competitor telling us the event provided a nice break from the rodeo lifestyle..

"I'm never home during the winters, usually I'm down south rodeoing, and you miss out on a lot of stuff like these kind of things at home when you're rodeoing hard. So, it's kind of a neat treat to be able to come home and do some of this stuff sometimes," profession saddle bronc rider Shane Moran said.

Once the competition wrapped up, the skiers headed off the sloped and went inside where there was music and a dancing.