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NILE salutes rodeo as we celebrate 50 years

Billings, MT-The very first indoor rodeo in Montana was at the 1969 NILE, just two years after the inaugural Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE). 50 years later the NILE salutes the rodeo industry for riding with us for the past five decades.

The NILE began when the Billings area businessmen, cattlemen and industry professionals came together with the vision to “Preserve and Embrace Agriculture and the Western Way of Live.” As we celebrate our past and look the future we thank the many people who have been a part of our mission.

This month’s NILE Salutes is the Rodeo industry. For 50 years, rodeo cowboys and cowgirls of Montana and the surrounding regions have entered up at the NILE rodeo. The spirit of competition and camaraderie makes for an atmosphere unlike any other. Crowds of thousands attend the NILE professional rodeo annually, some people come back every year and wouldn’t miss it, while others experience the Western sport for the first time.



There are many entities to thank for the success of the NILE rodeos. Without the dedication of the associations, contestants, committees, and behind-the-scenes workers, it wouldn’t be possible. The Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association are excellent partners that validate the NILE as a premiere and professional event. The partnership with those associations gives credit to the hard-work that goes into maintaining the title of first, and best indoor rodeo in Montana. The NILE also salutes the contestants-without them the rodeo wouldn’t exist. It’s impossible to have a rodeo without contestants, so thank you for risking the ride and giving the crowd someone to cheer for. The NILE Rodeo committee is one of the largest committees of volunteers for the NILE. Numerous people dedicate their time to help put on the event, from opening gates, taking off ropes, and wrangling kids for mutton bustin’ and wild pony racing, the volunteers are a big asset.

In the next 50 years the NILE wishes that rodeo remains the number one sport in the region, and that Billings, Montana is marked on the map for providing the highest quality rodeo for contestants and spectators.



–the NILE