NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — For the third time in the last six years, Merriman cowboy Garrett Shadbolt is leaving North Platte with a Buffalo Bill Rodeo championship buckle.
Shadbolt captured the 2026 Buffalo Bill Rodeo bareback riding title with an 87.5-point ride aboard Championship Rodeo's Sweet Tequila during the opening night of competition June 17. His score held through a field of 27 riders, earning him his third Buffalo Bill Rodeo title after previously winning in 2021 and 2022.
The 30-year-old returned to competition this season following hip surgery in February to remove a bone spur and said he is eager to regain momentum as he pursues a fifth qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
"I ride the best when I'm riding every day," Shadbolt said. "You get sharpened up and dialed in."
Other champions were also crowned during the four-day rodeo.
Jacob Edler of Alva, Oklahoma won the steer wrestling aggregate with a combined time of 11.3 seconds on two runs. The 2020 world champion said a strong summer could allow him to step away from his tire business and rodeo full-time in pursuit of another trip to the National Finals Rodeo.
In breakaway roping, Madison Richmann of Keenesburg, Colorado turned in a winning time of 2.4 seconds, securing a berth at this year's Cheyenne Frontier Days. Richmann, a graduate student at Tarleton State University, called Cheyenne her favorite rodeo and said competing alongside some of the nation's top ropers in Texas has elevated her game.
Additional 2026 Buffalo Bill Rodeo champions included Peyton Holliday and Derrick Jantzen in team roping, Kade Bruno in saddle bronc riding, JD McCuistion in tie-down roping, Summer Kosel in barrel racing and Raile Joens in bull riding.
During the rodeo, North Platte's Butch Lehmkuhler was presented with the 2026 Trail Boss Award. The longtime PRCA rodeo clown and bullfighter worked rodeos across North America during a 32-year career and was named PRCA Clown of the Year five times.
NEBRASKAland Days festivities continue this week with events including the Prime Rib Feed, Cowboy Kickball, Frontier Revue and concerts featuring Treaty Oak Revival on June 26 and Zach Top on June 27.