A Horse is A Horse of Course of Course

 Miller’s Horse Palace  

Laurel, Montana

Written by Cyd Hoefle

Photography by Stu Hoefle

Spring Issue - 2026

The parking lot was bustling with horse trailers sporting license plates from Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Horses, children, dogs, parents – all convened at Miller’s Horse Palace, outside of Laurel, for the Montana Little Britches Rodeo series in late February. 

“It’s a big deal,” Valee Miller, producer of the show said. “We’re the only sanctioned Montana Little Britches Rodeo in the state.”   

The weekend was packed with contenders as young as three-years-old competing in barrel racing by riding a horse led by a parent around the clover leaf pattern, as well as contestants up to age 19 competing in all regular rodeo events.  

The Horse Palace Equestrian Center was built in 1992 and designed to be a place for team roping. It underwent several owners before Bob and Teresa Miller took over ownership in 2004.  

“We renamed it Miller’s Horse Palace,” Teresa explained, “because we wanted people to know our plan was to keep it a horse center.” 

The Millers have continued to host ropings, but they have expanded to hosting a number of other horse-related events.  

BOB AND TERESA, CLAYTON AND VALEE

Nearly fifteen years ago, Tomorrow’s Rodeo Champions (TRC), a youth rodeo organization meant to jump start aspiring youth with their rodeo careers, was started.  

Bob and Teresa are proud that some of the great rodeo legends from Montana that started with TRC include Jess and Jake Lockwood, Sage Newman, Theresa Sorlie, Parker Breding, Haven Meged and the Tryan brothers.

“For me it’s always been about the kids,” Teresa said. “It’s been wonderful watching so many of them grow up and become the champions that they are.” 

When son, Clayton, married Valee Couley, an accomplished barrel racer, large events really took off. Theirs was the first big wedding held at the barn and the transformation from a horse barn into an elegant wedding venue surprised their guests. 

“I think they expected it to smell like a horse barn,” Valee laughed. “But it didn’t. It was really beautiful.” 

“Big events didn’t come around until we acquired Valee into our family,” Bob added smiling. “Now we host a lot of them, including weddings.” 

The familiar red barn is located right off Laurel’s East I-90 exit, on Mossman Lane. The ten-acre facility offers room for families to park their trucks and oversized trailers, sprawl out a bit and stay for a while, with plug-ins, stalls, comfortable seating, and a full kitchen, which Teresa manages. 

Events are booked year-round including Wrangler team ropings five days a week from October 1 to May 30; barrel racing jackpots from May 1 through August 30 and the top three cutting events in the state. When there isn’t a horse event at the barn, there might be a wedding, funeral, mystery dinner or craft show. 

One of the favorite stories the family shares is when they housed the Shrine elephants. Looking for a place that could accommodate two elephants, the circus reached out to Billings Livestock Commission, who in turn directed them to the Palace.  

“It’s by far my favorite memory of everything we’ve ever done here,” Clayton said. “It was even better than when Garth Brooks did a communal rodeo event for kids.” 

The Millers were given just enough warning to heat up the barn before the two large animals arrived for an overnight stay on their way to the Shrine Circus in Spokane. The two were bedded down in the large arena, which suddenly shrunk in size.  

“They can’t drink cold water,” Clayton continued, “So I was filling large garbage cans out of the shower for them.” 

The family transporting the animals slept right in the arena with them, but not before putting on a little show for the Millers that showed just how smart and entertaining the animals really are. 

“They say that elephants won’t lay down if they don’t feel safe,” Bob said. “This was the only place on the road that they would walk in and lay down.” The Miller’s hosted the elephants for four years before the circus was no longer allowed to use them in their show. 

“After 20 some years, we’ve become a communal meeting place,” Clayton said. “On a random day we might have four horse trailers pull up with folks meeting up to swap rigs or leave a horse or two. It’s become a crossroads for the western and ag communities.” 

“I’ve had people call as they drive by on the Interstate when they see a bunch of trailers here and ask if Teresa is cooking,” Bob added laughing. “They know they’ll get a good meal if they stop in.” 

Clayton is a full-time farrier in addition to managing the Palace with Valee. Convenient access from the highway makes it a perfect location for his trade. 

“I used to travel four or five days a week,” he said. “But with a wife and daughter, I needed to do it differently. They can drop off their horse and let me shoe while they go on into town and get everything done,” Clayton said. 

There’s a lot of hats to be worn at the Palace, and the four members of the Miller family do almost all of it themselves. 

“It’s definitely family run,” Bob said. “The four of us and our granddaughter, Couley.” 

Besides managing the event center, Clayton and Valee own Miller Ranch Productions and are the producers of the Glacier Chaser Classic, one of the largest barrel racing events in the state. In addition, they produce dozens of barrel racing and rodeo events over the course of the year. 

“I want to own the world, Clayton wants to live in the world,” Valee said. “But we couldn’t do any of what we do without Bob and Teresa.” 

From watching seven-year-old Couley while Valee produces events and competes, to providing the facility; it seems the family’s success is dependent upon one another. 

Just across the interstate from the barn is yet another familiar red barn. Located right beside the truck stop, Teresa owns and manages the antique shop. When her father, Frank Pelican bought the truck stop in 1982, he also had an abundance of items he’d collected from farm auctions. When a friend sold him the barn, he relocated it to its present location and opened the antique store.  

“When I’m not running the antique store, there’s a good chance I’m stocking the kitchen for another event,” Teresa said. 

And Bob, a farmer at heart, raises hay across the Yellowstone River, not far as the crow flies, from the Palace. His efforts provide hay for the horses that are boarded at the facility along with the ones that Clayton and Valee own and train on their nearby acreage. His farming talent is evident in the condition of the ground in the Horse Palace arena – renowned as some of the best footing in the state.  

The event center is one of only a few across the country that are privately owned. With the rising costs of insurance, taxes and utilities, the profit margin is slim. 

“If we quit doing what we do here, I’m sure it would never be another horse place,” Bob said. “It’s a lot of work - but it’s a lifestyle that we all love.”