Bareback
Rider for the Ages
With
the “marvelous” one, Marvin Garrett,
back in the hunt, fans of the bareback event—and
competitors too—are poised for another wild
ride.
By
Kendra Santos
There
was a time in professional rodeo’s not-too-distant
past when Marvin Garrett owned the bareback riding
event. He won four world bareback riding crowns in
1988, ’89, ’94, and ’95, and twice,
in 1989 and ’95, topped the cowboy sport’s
Super Bowl by winning the 10-round Wrangler National
Finals Rodeo.
In
1998, the South Dakota phenom they call “Marvelous
Marvin” was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of
Fame. But he wasn’t done. Garrett’s dominating
stretch of an impressive dozen NFR qualifications rolled
from 1986 to 2000.
I was surprised to see Marvin’s name listed in the program at the California
Rodeo in Salinas this summer. Here’s a guy who will go down in rodeo
history as one of the all-time greats in the bareback riding event. But in
all honesty, I thought his competitive glory days were done.
I
made a mission of tracking him down before that afternoon’s
performance to catch up, find out what he’s been
up to and where he’s headed. His perpetual baby
face and fit physique do not give his age away. Marvin
honestly still looks more like a college kid than a
43-year-old veteran twice the competition’s age.
“I’ve
been raising bucking horses and putting on a roughstock
series [the Marvin Garrett Invitational Roughstock
Series] in the spring,” he told me. “We
have all three events, and everyone from high school
kids with a lot of potential to world champions and
circuit guys who don’t want to travel come ride.
The
series runs every other week in March, April, and May,
for a total of six events. It’s really fun,
and we’ve done it three years now.
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Garrett
gathers himself for a ride. This image by rodeo
photographer Shari Van Alsburg was taken some years
ago, when the bareback rider was in the midst of
his championship streak.
Garrett
was a fixture at the NFR. He has re-entered the
fray to try again to make it to the big show.
Photo courtesy PRCA.
"
I’m excited about where my life’s
going. "
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