What led you to your Bronco Sport and why? Was it the aesthetics of the car or the off-road performance? Maybe even the fuel economy, or you didn’t have the budget for a Bronco so you went for the Sport? There are lots of stories out there about owners who were drawn to their Sports and these photos below tell the story of my journey into this world and where I’m at today.
It all started with my 6th Rebelle Rally, the one I wasn’t going to do
It's no secret that I’ve driven the Sport in the Rebelle Rally for the last three years, but what you may not know is, that I currently have all three of them at my house right now. I had to take a picture because who has three Sports in their driveway? But after looking at that photo, it got me thinking about those individual cars and how they’ve transformed me from an RN working in the medical device industry into a role that allows me to meet up with people who are also doing some amazing adventures and enjoying their Broncos and Bronco Sports.
My first opportunity to drive a Bronco Sport happened in the summer of 2021. I had been invited by Jovina Young, the Ford Bronco Sport brand manager at that time, to come out to the Woodward Dream Cruise and be part of the Rebelle vehicle reveal. There were going to be two Broncos and one Sport sponsored by Ford, and, after deciding I was going to take a year off from the Rebelle, caved in when I heard about the Ford sponsorship. I mean, who could say no to that?
Many people have heard the story that I was initially afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get that car across the finish line of the rally, let alone win the class. But, when I crossed the finish line, the first thing I said to my husband Brian was, “I want this car.” Not, “I love you,” not “Hurrah, I think we won!” but that I wanted that car, who we named Cody at the rally.
Why did I want Cody specifically? Well, over 8 days in the desert, that car did everything I asked of it, and more. We were often found driving on the 4x4 route, descending giant sand dunes, and picking our way through rocks that were much larger than I liked. Cody became a faithful 3rd teammate and well, you shouldn’t name something you don’t plan on keeping….
Bronco Sport #1 - Cody
How does one go about getting a car directly from Ford? It’s not an easy thing but luckily, I had people there who saw how much I loved that car, including Jason Hyde, who became the new Bronco Sport brand manager when Jovina moved to another role. At Easter Jeep Safari 2022, at the Bronco Nation Bronco Basecamp, Cody was brought to me and we eventually got the paperwork signed and were able to buy him.
Around the same time, we began discussions with Jason on Rebelle Rally 2022 and if Ford was interested in bringing in teams again. They were, and eventually, we took delivery of a Sport that was wrapped in the same livery and was virtually Cody’s twin. Because I let my co-driver Cora Jokinen name Cody in 2021, I decided to make it a tradition and let Chris Benzie, my 2022 co-driver name the car, deciding that we should stick to the theme of towns in Wyoming. She selected Jackson, and he took us to another great finish and win at the Rebelle Rally. I found out later that Jackson had also been on the Ford team in 2020, driven by Elana Scherr, and finished in 6th place for the X-Cross class. (Shelby Hall finished 1st in her Bronco Sport with co-driver Penny Dale).
Bronco Sport #2 - Jackson
I met up again with Jackson at the 2023 King of the Hammers, as we were invited to lead some media drives with the new Bronco Sport Heritage trims. It was great to get to drive Jackson again, but I had been told that the car was going to be crushed as it was an early test model. At the end of the event, I hugged Jackson goodbye and hoped he had enjoyed his last few drives. Jason Hyde went back to Ford and I’m not sure what happened but he got a commitment to get Jackson back to us. That took an entire year, but at this last King of the Hammers (just a month ago), we brought Jackson home for good. We will be his only owners as he will have to be crushed when we are finished with him, and per his paperwork, he is not to be driven on public roads. Stay tuned for more news on Jackson as we have some modifications we want him to test out for us because he’s now a dedicated off-road rig.
Sport #3 - Casper
Between 2023 and 2024 King of the Hammers, while we were working out a way to get Jackson, another Rebelle Rally took place and another Sport came into my life. This 3rd Sport was named Casper, by my co-driver Jessica Moore. Casper too, performed remarkably well, and also won his class, making the Bronco Sport undefeated and a 4-peat winner.
I had no expectations to see Casper again, and shortly after the holidays, the truck arrived to take him away to a Ford Performance event in Charlotte. I was able to see him at that event, parked happily by the Baja 1000 Bronco Raptor class winner, and wished him well. That’s when I was approached and asked when we would be home and able to receive him back. Brian and I were both shocked, not only to be getting him back but also in trying to figure out garage space for our now 5 Bronco fleet. We will be using Casper as a training vehicle for the 2024 Rebelle Rally while we wait for whatever Sport Ford wants to send us next. The one thing that is for sure, is that he will have a Wyoming name, and my co-driver Kathryn Reinhardt will get to name him. We will see if we can pull off a 5-year win in October.
That all brings us to today and thinking about how a passion for a car can change one’s life. It’s been about two years since we started guiding for Bronco Off-Roadeo Moab and one year since left my corporate job to begin writing and trail guiding for The Bronco Nation. I can’t believe how the Sport has brought me so much opportunity to educate owners in using their Broncos and how many wonderful people that I now consider great friends that I didn’t even know a year ago. I was going to list them all out but they know who they are. I’ll just leave the story with the last people we wheeled within our Sports, just this past Tuesday in Moab. The Murrays were our guests at the Off-Roadeo and returned to Moab for a vacation. We were able to meet up and take a trail ride. Check out Dusty, their Sport, very well modified over Bone Stock Cody. It was a great day that goes down with so many other great ones. I’m really looking forward to all the adventures this year and getting so many chances to spend time with like-minded people. I hope we can connect or reconnect soon.
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