October 23, 2025

NMJC (Rodeo) Hosts Thunderbird Rodeo in Lovington

The long awaited Thunderbird Rodeo is set to begin Thursday, Oct. 23 at Jake McClure Arena in Lovington, NM.

The rodeo will run Oct. 23-25 starting at 7 p.m. MDT on Thursday night. Friday morning the events begin at 9 a.m. and go until 12 p.m. before starting back up at 7 p.m. MDT. Saturday morning things get underway at 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. MDT with the Short Round for the rodeo beginning Saturday at 7 p.m. MDT.

The T-Birds have not hosted a regional rodeo in more than two decades. The coaches and student-athletes are excited to see it all come together after months of organization and planning.

"Behind the scenes, the rodeo team and staff have been on full blast to gather sponsors, build the marketing plans, ensure the stock and rodeo operations are set up correctly, and do our everyday duties around practicing and running the program," NMJC women's rodeo head coach Alexa Wilcox said. "We are very excited to bring college rodeo back to Lea County and are confident that this will be a great rodeo on all fronts!"

"We're extremely excited to kick off our first hometown rodeo for the Thunderbirds," NMJC men's rodeo head coach Stewy Kinley said. "This has been a lot of years in the making and now that it's here we're ready to have a great weekend and show our community what we can do."

The T-Birds have had nearly four weeks off since their last rodeo at the Frank Phillips College Rodeo.

"Having several weeks off is tricky because we were just gaining momentum and then we took a break," Coach Kinley said. "But on the flip side we've had some time to work out some kinks and practice for the setup in Jake McClure Arena. The arena is huge, and it'll be really cool to have a longer start in the timed events. The roughstock won't be any different and those guys are always ready to go. They'll feed off the electric feel of the Jake McClure Arena and hopefully we'll draw a good hometown crowd to help with that."

The way the arena is built leads to a different set of challenges for NMJC this week compared to the other rodeos in the region.

"In the timed events, we need to stay behind the barrier and go capture all of our cattle without costly misses," Coach Kinley said. "You won't see a lot of super-fast times this week because the setup isn't conducive to that. It's more about using your horse to get all the way to the cattle and getting a time. Whoever does the best job of that in all events will be the winner."

The Jake McClure Arena is located at 101 S Commercial St, Lovington, NM 88260 inside the Lea County Fairgrounds.

There is no live stream for the rodeo. Below is the draw for the Thunderbird Rodeo. Stay up to date on the NMJC rodeo team by following them on Facebook and Instagram @nmjc_rodeo.

2025 Thunderbird Rodeo Draw

Thursday 7 p.m MDT Performance

Triston Flinn | Bareback Riding

Jace Beierbach | Tie Down Roping, Steer Wrestling & Team Roping

Cole Irwin | Team Roping

Ryker Hutchinson | Team Roping

Jerry Martens | Team Roping

Ashley Weber | Team Roping

Bella King | Team Roping & Goat Tying

Sage Wilkins | Barrel Racing

Brie Riley | Barrel Racing

Mia Box | Breakaway Roping