The Butte Vigilante Rodeo and the Legacy of Don Harrington

The Butte Vigilante PRCA Rodeo returns August 23rd, 24th and 25th.  While we today enjoy top-tier rodeo action, entertainment, receptions and more at the grounds on Albany Street today, it was a long road, and a Butte cowboy named Don Harrington led the way.  The following is from information provided by 406 Heart, a local charity that is taking the reins this year

Butte's rodeo history reaches all the way back to 1931 when the first annual rodeo was produced by Kramer-Spillum Murphy.  In 1945, the Souths Side Businessmen's Club was formed and in 1946 they bought the original Rodeo Grounds for $10,000.  For another $5,000, they bought out the producer as well.  The SSBC continued to produce the annual rodeo through 1957 at which point they organized and turned over the Rodeo Grounds to the Butte Vigilante Rodeo and Saddle Club who produced the first Butte Vigilante Rodeo, held at the Butte Civic Center.

In 1957 the Saddle Club started plans to purchase the old Dog Track and build a new arena which wend up just west of the old Brooks Hanna Ford dealership on Harrison Avenue.  This facility hosted the rodeo and events for almost 50 years.  By 2001 the event had reached the point where guests were parking up to 10 blocks away and it was decided that a larger facility was needed.

In 2002, Butte cowboy and nationally respected businessman, Don Harrington, donated 22.2 acres of land south of the airport to the Butte Vigilante Saddle Club to build a new rodeo grounds, the one we enjoy today.

Don Harrington, himself a member of the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, was instrumental in starting the rodeo team at the University of Montana in Missoula where he roped calves, rode bareback and "stumbled" into a lifelong career as a rodeo announcer with what many called a "golden voice".  In 1974, Harrington was selected as the announcer for the National College Rodeo Finals in Bozeman, the National High School Rodeo in Tomah, Wisconsin, and the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Don is the only announcer to have worked all three of these National Finals rodeos in the same year.  It seemed only befitting that Don's announcing career ended in 2004 when he announced his final rodeo at the Don Harrington Arena.

It is in the great spirit of Don Harrington that 406 Heart and Sankey Pro Rodeo are honored to bring PRCA Rodeo back to Butte, Montana!