The man considered by many to be North Dakota’s best rodeo cowboy

FARGO — Who was the best rodeo performer to ever come out of North Dakota? There may be some disagreement from North Dakota rodeo fans, but I believe a solid case can be made for bestowing that honor onto Brad Gjermundson.

While in school at Halladay, he was the North Dakota High School All-Around Champion. He earned the rookie of the year honor in the North Dakota Rodeo Association (NDRA) during his freshman year of college and, in his senior year, was the College National Saddle Bronc Champion.

Brad turned pro in 1980 and was named by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) as the saddle bronc riding Rookie of the Year. He qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFE) eight straight times (1981-1988) and again in 1994, and won the saddle bronc world championships in 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1985. He also won the Badlands Circuit saddle bronc championship six times. He was inducted into at least six different halls of fame.

Bradley Jay Gjermundson was born in Richardton on March 25, 1959, to Stanley and Sharon (McNamara) Gjermunson. Stanley, the son of a Norwegian-born father, owned a ranch 3.5 miles west of Marshall in Dunn County, and Sharon was the town’s postmistress. Brad helped on his father’s ranch and attended school in Halliday, located about 15 miles north of Marshall.

While in grade school, Brad became interested in rodeos and “took part in show-de-os and the saddle club.” He also attended many of the local rodeo events. Brad’s father, Stanley, “rode rodeo rough-stock in his day,” and helped out by “keeping Brad in horses.” He constantly bought fresh horses for Brad to ride, encouraged him to practice rodeo events, and even purchased a bronc saddle and a bucking machine to practice on during the winter months.

As a rodeo participant in 1975, while in high school, Brad qualified for the Little Britches National Finals in Cheyenne, Wyo., competing in bareback riding, bull riding and calf roping. Brad won the state saddle bronc championships in 1976 and 1977 and, in 1977, he was the North Dakota High School Rodeo All-Around Champion.

In 1977, Brad graduated from high school and enrolled at Dickinson State College (now Dickinson State University) where he became a member of the rodeo team. Brad majored in farm and ranch management and began dating Jackie Lynn Brown, a student majoring in elementary education. Besides attending classes, competing in rodeo events and dating, Brad also worked part-time at the Peavey Elevator in Dickinson.

During his freshman year, he earned the Rookie of the Year honor from the North Dakota Rodeo Association (NDRA) and, in 1979, he won the NDRA saddle bronc championship. Brad finished second in the College National Saddle Bronc Championship in 1979 and was the national champion in 1980.

Following graduation from Dickinson State in 1980, Brad turned professional. Although he had participated in several different rodeo events in the past, he decided to focus on saddle bronc riding as a professional. Growing up he rode bareback, but he said, “saddle bronc seemed to come more natural.”

No North Dakotan had ever won the national saddle bronc championship and the competition appeared to be evenly matched because six different cowboys had won that event in the past five years. Only one person had ever truly dominated that event, and he was Casey Tibbs, from Fort Pierre, S.D., who won six national bronc riding championships between 1949 and 1959.

Saddle bronc riding was similar to bareback riding, but the rider uses a specialized Western saddle without a horn. The rider needed to stay on the bucking horse for a minimum of eight seconds and judges assessed the ride based on certain criteria. The cowboy with the highest score given by the judges was declared the winner.

In 1980, “there was no limit to (the number) of rodeo entries” a person could enter. Brad signed up for the maximum number of rodeos he expected he would be able to compete in, even if it meant more than one rodeo on a given day. He said, “One Fourth of July, I entered five rodeos and made four of them.”

The professional rodeo season had already begun in 1980 when Brad turned pro, but his entry into that sport was excellent, winning more than his share of rodeo events. When the season ended, Brad was selected as national saddle bronc riding Rookie of the Year by the PRCA.

In 1981, “Gjermundson led the saddle bronc competition from start to finish,” riding in 130 rodeos, and he won his first PRCA saddle bronc championship. He said he won $8,000 in that event, “back in 1981 that was a year’s wages.” Also, that year, North Dakota Gov. Allen Olson proclaimed a “Brad Gjermundson Day.”

In 1982, Brad entered 210 rodeos and went to 155. It was his best year moneywise — at about $95,000, he had the highest earnings of any professional rodeo cowboy. He came in second in the national saddle bronc championship but was extremely pleased with the year’s results. Brad was also pleased with his rodeo results in 1983 and capped it off by winning his second PRCA championship in the saddle bronc competition.

For Brad, 1984 was a significant year. He won his event in 15 straight rodeos, including the PRCA championship.

That summer, at a rodeo event in Reno, Nev., he brought his girlfriend, Jackie Brown, with him, and on June 20 they were married. “Their honeymoon was an all-night drive from Reno to North Platte, Nebraska, for another rodeo. Then, from North Platte to Miles City, Montana, so that Brad could catch a private plane ride to Canada for another rodeo.” Brad and Jackie rented a house in Keene, N.D., the town where her parents lived.

Brad won the PRCA saddle bronc championship again in 1985, and although he qualified every year until 1988, the saddle bronc event was dominated by Clint Johnson, from Spearfish, S.D. In 1987, Brad and Jackie purchased a ranch near Marshall. Although he continued to compete in rodeos until his official retirement in 1999, Brad spent more time tending to his ranch. He also spent time each year helping at the Home on the Range Champions Ride Rodeo, which is the biggest fundraiser for Home on the Range, a facility in Sentinel Butte that “provides a positive, therapeutic home for children and teens who have experienced trauma and abuse.”

Few people from North Dakota have been inducted into more halls of fame than Brad Gjermundson. He was inducted into the Western Heritage Hall of Fame in 1981, followed by the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame in 1986, the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1990, the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2012.