There’s something to be said for grabbing the bull by its horns. Or at least holding on by the seat of your pants.

The Kesler Rodeo bull stock had ruled the first two days at the Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo, leaving only four qualified rides entering the final night with a pair of cowboys tied at an attainable 81.0.

After a run of no scores to start Saturday night’s competition, Bloomfield, New Mexico, cowboy Joseph McConnel left no question with his ride atop Excessive Force.

McConnel made quick work of the high-kicking, hard-turning bull, scoring a 90.5 to win the event, the highest pointed ride at the rodeo since 2013.

“For a big bull he was moving and I had to match him move for move,” McConnel said. “It was fun to be up there and doing what I love.”

World standings leader Sage Steele Kimzey pointed an 84 on Liberty City in the final ride of the rodeo, but knew the night belonged to McConnel.

“Maybe a few years ago with that bull (91 was possible),” Kimzey said.

“He’s getting a little age on him. He’s a really good one to have now. I knew Joseph, he’s my traveling partner, if he got his bull he’d probably win first. But, shoot, can’t be mad with second coming up here.

“Just the drive in, you get to see the lake. It’s a great crowd, great bulls, great people to be around. It’s a fun rodeo.”

The night opened with some drama as well, with Bend, Oregon’s Wyatt Bloom sticking the final ride of the bareback competition with an 85 pointer, edging Power’s Jessy Davis by half a point.

“The horse was good,” Bloom said. “My set up was scary loose but it worked out.”

Dalemead, Alberta’s Denver Roy hopped the border for a near victory in the steer wrestling. Roy carded a 4.1-second takedown in the first attempt of the final go, falling short of Bill Boyce’s winning time by 0.1 seconds.

In addition to winning the steer wrestling competition, Boyce, from Lewistown, won the all-around cowboy title and a $2,292 check by timing at 14.3 seconds in tie-down roping.

A slew of one-legged heels plagued team ropers on the final night, the first three teams getting penalized. Polson’s John Robertson and Pryor’s Bode Scott had the fastest time of the night in 7.2 seconds to finish in fourth place. The California team of Spencer Mitchell and Justin Davis beat the field by an entire second on Friday, winning with a time of 5.9 seconds.

Defending PRCA champion Jacobs Crawley drew a long-striding horse in Dark Shadows for the saddle bronc, and finished the night with a go-best 82.0, just short of fellow Texan Audy Reed, who scored an 84.5 on Friday to win the event.

Casper, Wyoming’s Jake Hamilton won the final night of tie-down roping in 10.8 seconds, finishing fourth overall. Logan Hofer of Magrath, Alberta, won the event with a 9.0-second tie down on the opening night.

Whitefish’s Ashley Sudan nearly took the crown in barrel racing, kicking up dust on the way to an extremely-fast 15.97 second ride, falling just short of 2012 world champion Mary Walker, who scored a 15.68 on Friday.

The total payout for the rodeo was more than $67,000.

At the midway point of the rodeo’s final night, the Northwest Montana Fair Rodeo honored the late Greg Kesler, who passed away earlier this year. A tribute was read for the longtime stock contractor of the Kalispell rodeo while a team of horses ran around the stadium and his widow, Judy, and son, Duane, stood at the chutes.

Northwest Montana Fair

PRCA Rodeo

Aug. 18-20

Flathead County Fairgrounds

Final results

All-around cowboy: Bill Boyce, $2,292, tie-down roping and steer wrestling.

Bareback riding: 1. Wyatt Bloom, 85 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Double Dippin, $2,143; 2. Jessy Davis, 84.5, $1,643; 3. Tanner Aus, 84, $1,214; 4. (tie) Troy Vaira and Justin Miller, 83, $643 each; 6. Chase Erickson, 80.5, $357; 7. George Gillespie IV, 78, $286; 8. Casey Breuer, 76, $214.

Steer wrestling: 1. Bill Boyce, 4.0 seconds, $2,292; 2. (tie) Denver Roy and Clayton Hass, 4.1, $1,843 each; 4. (tie) Mike Gollaher and Scott Guenthner, 4.4, $1,246 each; 6. Josh Boka, 4.5, $797; 7. (tie) Nick Guy and Ty Erickson, 4.7, $349 each.

Team roping: 1. Spencer Mitchell/Justin Davis, 5.9 seconds, $1,799 each; 2. Miles Kobold/Doug Cox, 6.9, $1,489; 3. Kolton Schmidt/Shay Carroll, 7.1, $1,179; 4. Bode Scott/John Robertson, 7.2, $869; 5. Trent Barrett/Toby Vineyard, 7.3, $558; 6. B.J. Brown/Jack Brown, 7.6, $310.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Audy Reed, 84.5 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Pocket Change, $2,391; 2. (tie) Jacobs Crawley and Tanner Hollenback, 82, $1,594 each; 4. JC DeSaveur, 79, $877; 5. Cole Elshere, 76.5, $558; 6. Layton Green, 75, $399; 7. (tie) Cole Scott, Clay Elliott and Andy Clarys, 74, $186 each.

Tie-down roping: 1. Logan Hofer, 9.0 seconds, $2,054; 2. (tie) Kyle Lucas and Josh Peek, 9.8, $1,652 each; 4. Jake Pratt, 10.0, $1,250; 5. Jake Hamilton, 10.8, $982; 6. Ty Hedrick, 10.9, $714; 7. (tie) Sterling Smith and Austin Barstow, 11.1, $313 each.

Barrel racing: 1. Mary Walker, 15.68 seconds, $2,053; 2. Ashley Sudan, 15.97, $1,760; 3. Heather Knerr, 16.11, $1,466; 4. Gayleen Malone, 16.23, $1,271; 5. Carmel Wright, 16.31, $978; 6. Deb Guelly, 16.35, $782; 7. Lindsay Kruse, 16.37, $587; 8. Shelby Blixt, 16.41, $391; 9. Tammy Carpenter, 16.48, $293; 10. Milee Dailey, 16.49, $196.

Bull riding: 1. Joseph McConnel, 90.5 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Excessive Force, $2,663; 2. Sage Kimzey, 84, $2,042; 3. (tie) Jared Parsonage and Colten Jesse, 81, $1,243 each; 5. Brennon Eldred, 79, $621; 6. Hawk Whitt, 57, $444; no other qualified rides.

Total payoff: $67,071. Stock contractor: Kesler Championship Rodeo. Sub-contractor: Kesler Rodeo.