09/18/2026
Two brothers plastered their bedroom walls with posters of Larry Mahan and Jim Shoulders, dreaming of a life neither of them could really picture happening for a kid from western North Dakota. One of them grew up to win four World Championships and become the most famous cowboy his state has ever produced.
Born March 25, 1959, in Richardton, North Dakota, to Stanley and Sharon Gjermundson, Brad grew up on his father's ranch near Marshall, in Dunn County, riding ponies from the time he could walk. "Growing up, we had ponies to ride, and that's all we really knew," he said. "We played rodeo all the time, and once we got old enough, my dad would take us with him sometimes when he went to rodeo."
He built his foundation fast — North Dakota High School All-Around Champion, back-to-back state saddle bronc titles in 1976 and 1977, and the College National Saddle Bronc Championship as a senior at Dickinson State. He turned pro in 1980 and immediately won PRCA Saddle Bronc Rookie of the Year.
Then, in 1981, at just 22 years old, Brad Gjermundson won his first World Championship — leading the saddle bronc standings from start to finish across 130 rodeos that season. He said it himself, describing exactly what carried him through year after year at the top — "After I won my first world championship, I continued to set that as my goal every year." That same season, he earned $8,000 at one event alone — a year's wages back in 1981 — and North Dakota Governor Allen Olson proclaimed an official "Brad Gjermundson Day" in his honor.
He wasn't finished. Gjermundson won three more World Championships — in 1983, 1984 and 1985 — becoming a four-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider across a career that saw him qualify for the National Finals Rodeo eight straight years from 1981 through 1988, then once more in 1994, where he entered ranked 13th and still out-earned every other contestant with $81,000 in just ten days.
Known throughout the sport for being soft-spoken, humble and a little shy off the horse — the exact opposite of the dominance he showed once the gate opened — Gjermundson piled up championships everywhere he went: three titles at Albuquerque, three at Houston, two each at Calgary and Reno, plus wins at Ellensburg, Pendleton, Phoenix, Prescott and Salinas. He captured the Badlands Circuit saddle bronc title an astonishing six times between 1983 and 1995.
He retired from professional competition in 1999 after a 20-year career and went home to ranch near Marshall, marrying his wife Jackie and raising three children who built their own successful rodeo careers. He's remained close to the sport ever since, riding in the Home on the Range Champions Ride 21 times between 1978 and 1998 and serving on its rodeo committee since 2002.
Inducted into the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1995.
Two brothers with posters on their bedroom walls. One kid from western North Dakota. Four World Championships nobody saw coming — except maybe him.
That is Brad Gjermundson. 🤠🐎🏆
