<div>BILLINGS — It’s been a banner year for the Northern Rodeo Association and the circuit is ready to close with a bang at the 49th Annual NRA Finals Oct. 24-26 in Kalispell at the Majestic Valley Arena.Contestants earned their way to the Finals through 33 regular-season rodeos beginning at Whoop-Up Trail Days in Conrad and Frontier Days Rodeo in Culbertson on June 7-8 and Poplar Wild West Days on June 8 to the Helmville Labor Day Rodeo Sept. 1-2.The top 10 in bareback, steer wrestling, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, saddle bronc, team roping (header and heeler), barrel racing and bull riding have all qualified for the NRA Finals. Standings can be found on the northernrodeo.com website.Performances are at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.<h2>People are also reading…</h2>The total purse up for grabs at the NRA Finals is $131,209.11 for the nine divisions according to NRA executive secretary Theresa Sorlie, who is in her 31st year in that role.In addition, the top qualifiers in junior barrel racing and junior breakaway will be competing in Kalispell.Sorlie said the top nine juniors in barrel racing and breakaway qualified to participate in the performances, with nine through seven competing Oct. 24, six through four on Oct. 25, and three through one Oct. 26. The juniors will also compete on Oct. 26 at 1 p.m.“We’re really excited,” said Sorlie of the Finals. “We had a great year. This year, we had a record number of members and just a lot of good rodeos. So, we’re really excited to wrap it up in Kalispell.”Sorlie said there were 918 NRA members this year. Members purchase a membership so they can enter NRA rodeos and compete, explained Sorlie. In the 30-plus years the NRA has tracked membership, “it’s the biggest year of members we’ve had,” said Sorlie.There were also 6,250 entries in the 33 NRA rodeos this past season. The total regular-season payout was $759,059.Sorlie said that in 2012, the association had 200 more entries and in 2010 there were more, but the 2024 statistics are “close to our top number. Very close.”Payout numbers have been tracked since 2009 and this is “our largest total dollars paid out.”“I believe that rodeo is on the rise right now and people are wanting to be a part of the heritage, and especially in Montana,” said Sorlie. “They like the Western way of life.”Thursday, Oct. 24, is Military Night and general admission is $20 and children 12 and under are free. On Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, general admission is $25 and tickets for children 12 and under are $5. Tickets can be purchased at northernrodeo.com or at the gate.Sorlie said fans in attendance should expect to see quality rodeo action.“We have some of the top cowboys and cowgirls in the state of Montana,” she said. “And the NRA is also a family-oriented event. So, you get to see a lot of families that compete together because of the junior events that we offer. So, it’s a real well-rounded event to go watch.”Email Gazette Sports Editor John Letasky at john.letasky@406mtsports.com or follow him on X/Twitter at @GazSportsJohnL</div>

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After a banner year, Northern Rodeo Association aiming to close season with a bang at NRA Finals

BILLINGS — It’s been a banner year for the Northern Rodeo Association and the circuit is ready to close with a bang at the 49th Annual NRA Finals Oct. 24-26 in Kalispell at the Majestic Valley Arena. Contestants earned their way to the Finals through 33 regular-season rodeos...