ALL IN THE FAMILY: Bareback riding and rodeo a commonality for the Owens and Norstroms
Helena, Mont. – July 22, 2024 – Rodeo runs through the veins of the Owens and Norstrom families.
It started with Ed Solomon, great-grandfather to cousins Ty and Spur Owen, and trickled down to their parents, Todd Owens and Scott Owens, respectively, who were both bareback riders, and to two more of Ed’s great grandsons, brothers Kaleb and Will Norstrom.
And now the fourth generation will ride bareback horses at the Last Chance Stampede in Helena this week.
Ty, age 20, and Spur, age 19, both Helanans, will ride barebacks at the Stampede, as will cousin Will Norstrom, who is from East Helena.
“When we were younger,” Ty said, “we were always playing with riggings and stuff.”
Ty and Spur started with mutton bustin’: sheep riding, then graduated to riding steers.
When a stock contractor brought to Montana a pen of mini-ponies that were bucking horses, the kids bugged their parents till they allowed them to ride the ponies.
“They are a step between steers and big horses,” Ty said.
The kids’ parents hauled them around Montana for several summers as they rode the mini ponies. The ponies “were pretty fast and liked to run,” Ty said. “They were real intimidating,” but a good stepping stone for kids learning to ride bucking horses. “They taught you how to control your adrenaline rush and get your basics down.”
The boys would watch the videos of their rides over and over, “just waiting for the next time to get on those ponies,” Ty said.
Both men competed in high school rodeo. Ty rode bulls and bareback horses, competing at the Montana High School Finals four years and the National High School Finals Rodeo three years. He graduated from Townsend High School in 2022.
Spur, who was homeschooled his senior year, competed in high school rodeo three years, turning pro his senior year, when he turned 18. He also made the National High Schools in 2021, the year he and both Norstrom cousins, along with Helena bareback rider Sam Petersen, finished in the top twenty at Nationals in the bareback riding.
Spur’s dad, Scott, rode bareback horses professionally until he broke his back in 2008 at a rodeo in Stanford, Mont. At the time, he was in the top five in the PRCA world standings.
Ty’s dad, Todd, rode during high school and in the National Pro Rodeo Association for a few years after high school.
Spur went to a semester of college at Miles City Community College, but a lingering shoulder injury hampered him. He had surgery in March, with doctors inserting two anchors in the front and four in the back to stabilize the labrum.
Ty went straight from high school to pro rodeo competition.
He will compete on Thurs., July 25; Spur rides on Sat., July 27, as does Will Norstrom. Caleb team ropes but won’t compete at the Stampede.
Both men love the adrenaline rush of getting on an 1,100 pound bucking horse.
“It’s a rush,” Spur said. “You can’t not try. You just have to react. You have to be there for 100 percent, every time, because if you show up weak-minded, you’re already beat before you get on.”
Even though they’re family, they still compete against each other, Ty said.
“You don’t want your buddies beating you, so it makes you ride better. I love it. It keeps us all strong.”
More than 350 cowboys and cowgirls will compete at the Stampede this weekend, which runs July 25-27.
Rodeo performances begin at 7 pm nightly.
All tickets for the Thurs., July 25 show are general admission. They are $21 for adults and $5 for children (12 and under) in advance; the day of the show, they are $23 for adults and $5 for children.
All tickets for Fri., July 26 and Sat., July 27 are reserved seating and are $24 in advance and $26 the days of the show.
They can be purchased at the Lewis and Clark Co. Fairgrounds box office and online at LCCFairgrounds.com.
For more information, visit the website or call 406.457.8516.
–Last Chance Stampede
