I'm merely a casual rodeo fan, so you'll have to excuse my initial ignorance when I first heard about The Riggin Masters coming to Billings a couple of months ago. My co-worker, a lifelong rodeo junkie, gently explained what it's all about.

A riggin' is a "suitcase-style handhold customized to a rider's grip and attached to a molded piece of leather that is cinched, with a pad, around the horse's girth."  The "riggin'" is used in bareback bronc riding.

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Photo by Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández on Unsplash
Photo by Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández on Unsplash

"Aha!" I thought, "This all makes sense now."

The best-of-the-best bareback bronc riders in the nation (hence the "Masters" part of Riggin Masters) are coming to Billings on October 16th and 17th at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark.

Organized by the Northern International Livestock Exposition, this new-to-Billings rodeo event will feature the top 24 PRCA bareback bronc riders in the world standings, along with the Top 6 Rookie bareback riders getting invites to participate.

Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images
Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Big talent, big purse.

These rodeo athletes will compete for a record-setting $100,000 purse, making The Riggin Masters the largest standalone bareback bronc riding event in the world. MetraPark notes,

Sanctioned as a PRCA Rank 45 Xtreme Broncs event, the elite field is expected to include the Top 15 qualifiers for the 2026 National Finals Rodeo (NFR), offering fans a rare opportunity to see rodeo’s premier athletes compete in Billings before heading to the sport’s biggest stage in Las Vegas.

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Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Enter below for your chance to win 4-packs of tickets to The Riggin Masters

Things get Western at MetraPark leading up to The Riggin Masters

October is practically NILE month at MetraPark. The NILE Stock Show kicks off October 10th and runs through October 17th. Don't miss the NILE Ranch Rodeo Finals on October 10th. Your tickets include entry to the "dance on the dirt" concert after the rodeo.

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