AS I SEE IT
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
If you like to watch wild bucking broncs and thousand pound bulls trying to unseat a 185-pound cowboys, then you aren’t going to want to miss all of the great rodeo action that the NDRA Championship Finals will be bringing to Watford City this Friday and Saturday.
For many years Watford City hosted the NDRA Finals, but three years ago the event was moved to Bismarck. But thanks to the support of the cowboys and cowgirls from across the state that are competing as well as the NDRA board of directors and the hard work by the McKenzie County Cowboy Association, which will be hosting the rodeo, the Finals are returning to the community.
Without a doubt, if someone is going to attend just one rodeo in North Dakota, then the Championship Finals is that rodeo. If you want to see the state’s best cowboys and cowgirls competing, they are going to be in Watford City this weekend. And if you want to see the most rank bucking stock from the best stock contractors in North Dakota, they are going to be here as well.
The NDRA Finals, the granddaddy of all North Dakota rodeos, is the culmination of a summer of rodeos with only the top competitors in each of the standard nine rodeo events - bareback riding, calf roping, ladies breakaway, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, senior men’s breakaway, and bull riding - qualifying to see who will emerge as state champions.
While the Championship Finals will be the main drawing card this weekend, there will be plenty of other action as there will be open barrel racing in the fairground’s outdoor arena. And the Wild Ride, a crowd favorite, will be returning each night during the Championship Finals, in additional to rodeo dances each evening following the performance.
So if you haven’t been to a rodeo this year or if you love to watch rodeos, then you won’t want to miss all of the excitement this Friday and Saturday as the NDRA Championship Finals rides back into Watford City. And with the Finals being held indoors in the McKenzie County Multi-Purpose Building, weather will not be an issue.
See you at the Finals!