WFS Special Events

Performance by Norrine Linderman
Ms. Norrine Linderman, known as the Outlaw Queen, has been performing country music in the West for most of her life. She sang and yodeled at a luncheon during the Western Fuels Symposium and during the western dinner event. Her latest accomplishments include a Montana Country Music Hall of Fame Award in 1999 and special recognition at the 2004 Tony Awards. Norrine has just released a CD called "In the Shadow of the Rockies." Norrine is the widow of the famous pro rodeo cowboy, Doug Linderman. Doug and his two brothers are on the Wall of Fame for outstanding bronc and bareback riding. Her brother Bill is a world champion bareback rider and served as top champion and leader in the PRCA Rodeos.

Western-Style Dinner
Attendees of the Western Fuels Symposium were taken to The Horse Palace on the west side of Billings for an evening of western-style dining, calf roping, and horseback riding on October 13, 2004. Music was provided by the Outlaw Queen Norrine Linderman and her band.

The NILE ProRodeo
Following the western-style dinner, attendees of the WFS witnessed one of the true spectacles of the West-the Northern International Livestock Exhibition (NILE) Rodeo at MetraPark Arena in Billings. The NILE ProRodeo is currently ranked among the world's top 50 rodeos, based on prize money payout. The NILE ProRodeo draws top contestants in all seven professional rodeo events, as cowboys and cowgirls across the nation compete to earn a slot in the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Spectators and exhibitors from 24 states and six Canadian provinces regularly attend NILE. Arlie Hulm (pictured left) of Faith, S.D., roped and tied his calf in 10 seconds flat at the NILE PRCA Rodeo--photo courtesy of the Billings Gazette.