Broncbusters Make History with First-Ever Hometown Rodeo Title
Photo by: Dale Hirschman/Hirschman Photos
Garden City, KS – The Broncbusters made program history on their home dirt, capturing the Men's Team Championship at the 59th Annual Garden City Community College Rodeo for the first time ever.
Garden City totaled 545 points over the weekend, pulling away from the field behind a complete team effort across both roughstock and timed events .
The Broncbusters were led by a dominant performance in bareback riding, where Rhett Robbins claimed first in the average with a top score of 83 points, setting the tone early for Garden City's push atop the standings.
In the timed events, Jhett VanderHamm delivered one of the biggest performances of the weekend, winning the tie-down roping average with a time of 9.8 seconds, adding a significant boost to the team total. Nick Lovins followed with a strong showing in team roping, placing second in the average with a time of 6.1 seconds, while Riggs Rotenberger added points in steer wrestling, finishing sixth in the average at 6.5 seconds.
Garden City's depth in the roughstock events proved critical. Kacen Nowicki turned in an impressive ride of 77 points in saddle bronc, finishing second/third in the long-go, while Mark Halliday added a 74.5-point ride to place fourth in the average. Brady Irvine also contributed in saddle bronc, finishing third in the average with a score of 84 points, giving the Broncbusters multiple high-point finishes in the event.
On the women's side, Sheridan Bubel represented Garden City in barrel racing, posting a time of 14.43 seconds and finishing 12th in the average.
Key moment
Garden City's consistency across both roughstock and timed events created separation early, with multiple top-five finishes allowing the Broncbusters to control the standings throughout the rodeo.
Key stat
The Broncbusters scored 545 total points, the highest mark of the weekend, securing the program's first-ever men's team title at its home rodeo.
With the historic win, Garden City continues to build momentum in the Central Plains Region while adding a milestone victory in front of its home crowd.