Hubing equally at ease swinging a rope or holding a microphone.

When choosing teams for basketball, Blayne Hubing would be a pretty good place to start.

The 6-foot, 3-inch roper was a five-year starter for Circle High School. Adept at going right or left, Hubing joined the Wildcats varsity in eighth grade.

Now he has taken those skills in a new direction. Hubing equally at ease swinging a rope or holding a microphone.

“It’s been a great summer. I’ve loved every minute of it,” he said.

Roping with his father Jon, the 22-year-old Hubing is sixth in the Mountain Health Co-op Tour team roping heading standings. His father is fifth among team roping heelers. The two have been roping together since the younger Hubing was in grade school.

“It’s been good roping with dad. We’ll tease each other if something goes wrong,” said the son. “We understand we didn’t plan to miss. It’s been good.”

The pair placed second at Culbertson and fourth at Poplar the opening weekend of the season.

“Those first rodeos, Culbertson and Poplar, kind of set the pace,” Hubing said. “We decided to keep going ever since.”

They added second-place finishes at Big Timber and Opheim and are entered for Havre and Shelby this weekend.

Hubing rides Mogley, a nine-year-old bay/roan for team roping. He purchased the horse from Shawn Dunagan of Whitehall last year.

“We get along good,” said Hubing. “He helps frame the steers nice. He’s an honest horse.”

If not pushy at times. “He’ll mow a guy down for treats,” Hubing finished with a laugh.

Hubing also competes in tie-down roping aboard Jewels, a 10-year-old sorrel mare.

The friendly northeast Montana cowboy earned a degree in ag production at Miles Community College.

“I liked it so much … the coaches, the facilities … I stayed there two more years,” Hubing said, adding degrees in small business and equine studies.

He currently works at veterinary clinic part-time and on the family ranch that has 400 head of black angus along with growing wheat and peas. “We raise this and that,” said Hubing.

But the rodeo arena is home. When not roping, he is honing his announcing skills.

Hubing and Ryan Davis worked the Montana Junior High School Rodeo Finals at the start of summer and has also announced open and ranch rodeos and is listed for the Northern Rodeo Association.

Hubing’s announcing career began when the local 4-H conducted the stick horse races at the McCone County Fair.

“They handed me a microphone and I went with it,” he recalled. “At the time, I never gave much thought about announcing. Now I see it as a great opportunity. I like telling stories, making it fun for the crowd. Announcing sets the tone of the rodeo for the fans.”

Along with roping at the NRA events Havre and Shelby, he will be competing at open rodeos in Brockway and Richey. Hubing will pull double-duty in Richey, also serving as the announcer.

“I’ve got a big planner and two pens next to it,” he said of his busy schedule. “Someday, I want to announcer NRA Rodeos.”

For now, the NRA is about roping.

“The goal is to get back to the NRA Finals,” said Hubing. He roped at the 2022 NRA Finals with Greg Cassidy. “The best thing about the NRA, in my opinion, are the people you meet across the state. You need a calf pushed and somebody will step up and do it.

“The NRA is a great place for any stage of your career.”

Last week

Hometown cowboys Leighton LaFromboise and Austin Whitehouse, along with Chad Turner and Gavin Beattie christened East Helena’s new rodeo grounds with wins last weekend. LaFromboise won the bareback riding while Whitehouse did the same in steer wrestling. Turner and Beattie won the team roping.

LaFromboise and tie-down roping winner Cash Trexler of Corvallis didn’t have much time to celebrate. Both had to hustle to Rock Springs, Wyoming for the start of the National High School Rodeo Finals.

East Helena winners: Leighton LaFromboise, Helena, bareback; Wyatt Hotz, Philipsburg, saddle bronc; Cade Fitzpatrick, Polson, bull riding; Austin Whitehouse, Helena, steer wrestling; Cash Trexler, Corvallis, tie-down roping; Chad Turner-Gavin Beattie, Helena, team roping; Celie Salmond, Choteau, barrel racing; Molly Salmond, Choteau, breakaway roping; Dakota Keller, Raynesford, junior barrel racing; Royce Levine, Wolf Creek and Bryton Mikkelson, Buffalo, junior breakaway roping.

Up next

The Mountain Health Co-op Tour turns up the schedule with three rodeos this weekend.

The Great Northern RAM Rodeo is July 18-19 in Havre while the Three Forks Rodeo and Marias River Stampede in Shelby are both July 19-20.

Havre performances are 7 p.m. evening with adult event winners receiving black powder pistols. The Three Forks performances are 7 p.m. each night while Shelby will go at 6 p.m. on July 19 and 7 p.m. on July 20.

The three rodeos mark the halfway point for the 2024 season.