Wild ride
Ronan Pioneer Days Rodeo offers would-be cowboys and cowgirls a chance to ride a buffalo

By Aaric Bryan
Valley Journal
RONAN — It takes a special person to ride a buffalo. One must have excellent coordination to balance on the razor thin spines of the huge beast as they violently buck around the arena. But it’s not superb athletic ability that separates the buffalo riders from the rest of us – it’s lack of intelligence.
“I want to introduce you to six of the stupidest people,” Pioneer Days Rodeo Announcer Joel Warren told the spectators of the overflowing grandstands in Ronan Sunday. “They’re going to ride buffaloes.”
Polson’s Dana Jilek was one of the six brave souls entered in the final event of the three-day rodeo. After watching the wild buffalo ride last year, Jilek painted herself in a corner by telling her friends that she wanted to try her hand at breaking a bison.
“I told too many people. Pride then took over and I had to do it,” Jillich said.
While Jilek’s 1.9-second ride was no match for Travis Jeppesen’s winning ride, she said it was fun once she stopped shaking.
The wild buffalo ride put an exclamation point on the rodeo, which started with a fierce Bull-O-Rama Friday night. Columbia Falls’ cowboy Matt Tripplet was one of the few cowboys to escape the arena without injury, winning the long go, short go and average. Tripplet also won the bullriding event in the rodeo. Ronan’s Matt Aippersbach finished second in the Bull-O-Rama’s long go with 75 points and finished in fourth in the Pioneers Day Rodeo bullriding.

Tripplet was one of the few nonlocals atop the leaderboard once the dust settled.
Ronan’s Levi Guenzler won the steer wrestling with a 15.4-second ride, finishing in front of Dixon’s Zanen Pitts and Jay Bobby Gregory.
Ronan’s Josh, Stacy and Jill Harris each won an event. Josh’s 9.6-second run was good enough for a first-place and the $460 pot. Stacy had a 2.8-second ride to win the ladies breakaway.
Both the barrel races went to cowgirls from the valley. Charlo’s Rachel Hoyt and Ronan’s Jill Harris finished tied in the junior barrels with both crossing the finish line in 15.48 seconds. St. Ignatius’ Bobbie Reeves won the ladies barrels with a time of 14.58 seconds.

Results

Bull-O-Rama
Friday, July 31
Long go
1, Matt Tripplet, 78
2, Matt Aipperspach, 75
3, Matt Baumgardner, 72

Short go
1, Matt Tripplet, 86

Average
1, Matt Tripplet, 164
2, Matt Aipperspach, 75
3, Matt Baumgardner, 72.

Pioneer Days Rodeo
Saturday, Sunday, August 1-2

Bullriding
1, Matt Tripplet, 83
2, Gerald Eash, 82
3, Cole Ponce, 79
4, Matt Aipperspach, 75

Saddle bronc
1, Gerald Eash, 81
2, David Boyce, 71
3, BJ Schall, 70
4, Billy Hendrickson, 68

Steer wrestling
1, Levi Guenzler, 15.4 seconds
2, Zanen Pitts, 19.1 seconds
3, Jay Bobby Gregory, 27.1 seconds

Calf roping
1, Josh Harris, 9.6 seconds
2, Bip Bagnell, 12.1 seconds
3, Brant Davis, 12.9 seconds
4, Scott McAllister, 14.2 seconds

Junior breakaway
1, Colten Johns, 4.9 seconds

Ladies breakaway
1, Stacy Harris, 2.8 seconds
2, Jessica Milliron, 3.5 seconds
3, Jessica Picchietti, 4.0 seconds

Junior barrels
1, Rachel Hoyt, 15.48 seconds
1, Jill Harris, 15.48 seconds
3, Abby Knight, 15.59 seconds
4, Paige Luhman, 15.63 seconds

Ladies Barrels
1, Bobbie Reeves, 14.58 seconds
2, Catie Bvik, 14.76 seconds
3, Holly Porter, 14.88 seconds
4, Maddie Matelli, 14.92 seconds

Team roping
1, Cory Mutty and Brant Davis, 6.5 seconds
2, Jessica Milliron and John Robertson, 7.6 seconds
3, Herb Harris and Scott McAllister, 7.7 seconds
4, Bridger Chambers and Miles Soberg, 8.1 seconds

Mini bulls
1, Milo Bighead, 71
1, Quinn Greenough, 71
3, Clay Applegate, 69
4, Jake Curtis, 68