Libby’s summer events season starts June 13, when bull riders from around the region will converge at J. Neils Park for the annual Incredi-Bull riding competition. 

The event is being billed as entertainment for the whole family, event organizer Brett Bronson said.

“It’s something for the whole community to come out and enjoy,” Bronson said. “We’ll have two rounds of bull riding, with miniature bull-riding for kids in between. Copper Mountain Band will be playing afterwards.”

The bull riding competition is broken into two rounds, a long round and a short round. The long round features all of the competitors, which is then narrowed down into the top 10 or 15 for the short round. For the intermission between rounds, Bronson has arranged for a kids competition on miniature bulls.

“They’re just scaled down versions of the regular bulls,” he said. “They buck and kick, they’re just kid-sized.”

Bronson said the bulls for this year’s competition are all ranked, meaning they should provide a good challenge for the riders. Riders must stay on the bulls for eight seconds in order to record a score. Two judges then rate both the rider and the bull on a scale of one to 25, for a total of 100 possible points.

Brett Bronson said he is expecting about 30 riders to compete in the event, mostly from the northwestern United States. 

“This should be one of the better events we’ve had in the past three to four years,” Bronson said. “We’ve got great riders and great bulls coming into town.”

In addition to paying out prize money for the top places in each round, there will also be prize money awarded for the best overall score between the two rounds. Additionally, the organization provides a $1,000 scholarship each year to a local student.

The event is organized and managed entirely by volunteers.