MILES CITY — Blayne Hubing says he doesn’t know where he’d be without rodeo at Miles Community College. For starters, it's where he competes in two events.
“One day I think, oh man, I’m a tie-down roper. Two days later I think, I’m really a team roper," Hubing recently told MTN Sports with a hearty laugh inside MCC's arena. In the team roping event, he's a header.
"That way I get to throw my rope, no matter what,” he joked with another laugh.
The self-effacing Hubing has had plenty of experience in both events. Just ask Pioneers head rodeo coach Sylvan La Cross.
“We joke he’s getting his master's (degree) here at MCC because he’s been here for four years,” La Cross quipped with a smile.
Truth is, they’ve been four very productive years.
“My first degree was in ag production," Hubing said. "Then, I went to the equine studies and currently I’m in small business management.”
“And he’s just a guy I can turn to, to be a leader on the team," La Cross said. "He’s not just the elder of the bunch.”
Thing is, Hubing doesn’t just compete on the dirt with a rope in his hand. He’s also multi-talented upstairs with the announcer’s mic. His public speaking started during Hubing's 4-H years as he gained confidence in front of people. Then came the Circle native’s first break in rodeo announcing.
“McCone County always does a stick horse rodeo for little kids, and they always handed me the mic,” he recalled.
But that doesn’t mean the job gets easier now in front of bigger crowds and more competitive cowboys and cowgirls.
“That’s what an announcer is for. They’re supposed to tell everyone what’s going on, why the steer did that, why the bull did that," Hubing explained. "When you deliver it right, the person that just got done making that ride feels 10-feet tall and bullet proof.”
MCC will host its spring rodeo next week and if the timing is right, Hubing will be on the mic.
“Vance Ruff, our normal announcer, can’t make it due to some conflicts with his real job," La Cross said. "The kid we have coming in is kind of a younger kid, and I talked with him and he’s good with it that they’ll get to co-announce. If Blayne draws up in slack and not the performance, we’re putting them both on the mic.”
Hubing recently gained additional experience after traveling to an accelerated announcers school in Texas.
“As I do it more, I just really, really enjoy it,” he said.
Hubing does have his PRCA card and says he’d like to continue roping at the state level, maybe reaching the circuit finals some day. But he's also savvy enough to know that in a sport that doesn't always pay, announcing at least earns him a check at every rodeo.
(Editor's note: Scripps Sports will broadcast the four public performances live from Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on MTN stations throughout Montana. Click here for details.)
