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Josh Garner Wins RodeoHouston on First Try

By Matt Naber

HOUSTON – Two-tenths of a second made all the difference in steer wrestler Josh Garner nailing his biggest win 10 years after joining the PRCA when he won RodeoHouston with a 4.6-second run during the Super Series Championship, March 16.

“RodeoHouston is a prestigious rodeo, and it feels great to win,” Garner said, adding that he couldn’t compare it to anything he’d experienced before.

Many cowboys try to win the coveted Houston buckle, but Garner knocked it out his first time entering RodeoHouston.

“I always wanted to go, and I’d watch the videos of RodeoHouston,” Garner said. “I was super stoked just to be entered, and then winning the deal is just incredible.”

Unlike most rodeos, RodeoHouston’s competition spanned nearly a month from Feb. 25 through March 16. During that time, Garner won $7,000.

He won the second round of Super Series 3 with a 4.4-second run and placed second in the third round in 4.5 seconds.

The California cowboy went on to place second in the Semifinals 1 segment with a 4.7-second run.

“A lot of people thought I was relaxed or calm, but I wasn’t at all,” Garner said. “I didn’t know I didn’t show any emotion, I was pretty jacked up.”

The 28-year-old cowboy credited his RodeoHouston win to riding Buzz, a horse owned by Sterling Lambert and Clayton Anderson, and having Jacob Shofner as his hazer.

“When it all comes together, it makes it easier for me,” Garner said. “I drew good steers too, but it all goes back to the horsepower.”

Garner’s best season since joining the PRCA in 2009 was in 2018 when he finished 25th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $52,344. He’s surpassed that total with a single win.

“I’m still having a hard time believing I won $57,000,” Garner said. “I could always use it, and it’s darn sure going to help me get down the road and work on trucks and trailers.”

Garner’s 2018 season was highlighted by tying for the win with his travel partner Billy Bugenig at the RAM California Circuit Finals Rodeo in October 2017. He went on to split the win at Rodeo Austin (Texas) with Cole Edge in March 2018 and the Sisters (Ore.) Rodeo in June.

Buzz was Garner’s ride during Rodeo Austin and the Sisters Rodeo, so he knew this 13-year-old American Quarter Horse would bring good luck during St. Patrick’s Day weekend at RodeoHouston.

“I’ve had a good history with the horse,” Garner said. “He scores good and he hauls butt, and especially for a short guy like me he gets my feet on the ground fast. Seems like I always do good on him.”

Before winning RodeoHouston, Garner was 38th in the 2019 PRCA | RAM World Standings with $9,096. With the $57,000 from RodeoHouston, he’ll likely find himself in the top five for the first time in his career this late in the season.

“I was that high in the standings after winning the (California) Circuit Finals, but that’s when the season first starts,” Garner laughed.

“It’s a big jump in the world standings, and I’m not going to back off, I will keep going,” Garner said. “It’s a great opportunity to make the NFR, which is my ultimate goal.”

Garner’s travel partners are also his competition and his friends, so he took Lambert, Bugenig, Shofner, Cameron Morman and J.D. Struxness out for steaks to celebrate the win before heading to Rodeo Austin.

Other winners at the $1,748,000 rodeo were bareback rider Kaycee Field (92 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Onion Ring); team ropers Ty Blasingame/Kyle Lockett (5.0 seconds); saddle bronc rider Jesse Wright (86 points on Flying U Rodeo’s Flood Tide); tie-down roper Michael Otero (8.5 seconds); barrel racer Nellie Williams-Miller (14.26 seconds) and bull rider Trevor Kastner (90 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Smoke House).

For more coverage of RodeoHouston, check out the March 22 edition of ProRodeo Sports News.

Courtesy of PRCA

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