ProRodeo Sports News - June 12, 2020

CATCHING UP WITH ... MARVIN GARRETT

the backup fuel tank was dry. “It left us hanging, and I haven’t talked about it for a while but it’s an empty feeling,” Marvin said. “You’re over a pile of trees, and it’s pretty tough to imagine. I remember Johnny said if he was going to wreck, he would wreck the way he wanted to. He hit it in a tree. There’s a bunch of orchards there, and we didn’t want the little trees to rip us to shreds. When you’re flying with no power, you have to keep the wind under your wings – if you pull up you will pancake on the ground. He headed for the creek and hit a tree 14 feet up. “It just puts you out right away and nothing explains that kind of impact. The tree broke off at the bottom and two branches cradled the plane. Mark stayed awake for the whole thing and dug us out of there and saved our lives.” Even as the plane was crashing, Marvin’s mind was on his next ride. “Before we hit, I was thinking I was up in San Francisco that night, so I turned my shoulders so it would break my right arm instead of my left (riding) arm,” Marvin said. The incident isn’t talked about much within the Garrett family. “Mark only talked about it one time, at the Casey Tibbs (Rodeo Center) induction,” Shorty said. “Mark broke down, and it took a lot for him to talk about it. They lost their pilot during it, and they were all just great buddies. They don’t really talk about it, but you’d hear bits and pieces; but (we) never sat down and talked about it.” At the hospital after the crash, doctors determined that Marvin had a leak in his spinal cord. They weren’t sure he would walk again. Fortunately, his surgery was a success. “They thought walking would be the best results, and I thought if I can walk then I can run, and if I can run then I can ride,” Marvin said. A year-and-a-half later, Marvin got on a bucking horse. “It just goes to show how much of a pain tolerance anyone who rodeos has,” Shorty said. “It seems unreal.” RETURN TO THE NFR About two years after the plane crash, Marvin was back at the 2000 NFR. “Between starting to walk and starting to ride was a whole lot of therapy and trying to get in shape,” Marvin said. “It seemed like it was a long process, but I had, and still have, a great wife (Lisa) who helped me through it all. And a great family that keeps feeding moral support when you need it, too. You need to keep positive people around you and your goals alive, so you don’t lose interest.” Getting back to the NFR was Marvin’s main goal. “I didn’t want to be taken out of the sport by something that forced me out, and I wanted to get there at least one more time just to say I did it,” Marvin said. “That was a great year (2000). I enjoyed every minute of it and getting back there was a great honor and a great feeling of accomplishment. Most of that year was an ongoing struggle since your body isn’t as strong and has places it doesn’t bend anymore and you have to figure out a different way of riding.” Marvin backed off from competing after that, but he would go to about 30-40 rodeos per year so he could stay in shape and compete alongside his son, Weston. The father-son pair competed alongside each other from 2005-10 when Marvin got on his final bucking horse at 45 years old, 30 years after his first ride. “To be honest, that year was the best year I ever had,” Marvin said. “I went to two rodeos and won both of them.” LIFE AFTER RODEO Marvin’s as busy as ever as the roughstock riding coach for Gillette (Wyo.) College. “I’m always bringing up old stories to tell these kids about how tough of a life it can be but how satisfying it can be if you put your soul into it,” Marvin said. He’s also been working as a production tech at Black Hills Energy in

Gillette since 2011. “Seeing what they’ve done and how humble and modest they are about it is way cooler than any showboat deal,” Shorty said. “If you didn’t know rodeo, you’d never guess they’ve done what they’ve done since they’re not ones to brag on it.” With his days as a competitor in the rearview mirror, it’s the memories he formed along the way that he reflects on most. “There’s a lot of great memories, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything – the gold buckles or any of it,” Marvin said. “I have great friends out there and stay in contact with them, and it’s fun to talk about the old memories. That’s what I find more joy in. The buckles are laying around in the trophy case. I remember the horses I got on to win them, and on the wall are pictures of a bunch of great horses I was fortunate to draw and win on, and most were horses guys didn’t want to get on. Those are the ones I cherish the most because it took so much drive and mental attitude to win on those horses. That’s what I get a kick out of. “I always tell people that you might think it’s conceited, but they’re not just there for show, but so I can sit back and recall those days and the mental attitude it takes to conquer those great horses.” Powder River Rodeo’s Khadafy Skoal stands out among the bunch as Marvin’s favorite. The pair crossed paths seven times in his career, and he placed first on the ProRodeo Hall of Fame horse five of those times. “He was just one of those automatic horses that if you could keep up with him, he was fast and you could make a lot of great things happen,” Marvin said. In his own way, Marvin never really left rodeo. He just found a new way to stay involved. “I still think about riding bucking horses every day, and that’s why I raise them, too,” Marvin said. “I love seeing a kid get on a bucking horse and have things come together. It keeps me connected and grounded, but at the same time ranching is a peaceful way of life. There’s a lot of storms involved and peaks and valleys, but you enjoy it all.” Photo courtesy Marvin Garrett Marvin Garrett married his high school sweetheart, Lisa, in 1985 and credits her for helping him overcome the injuries he sustained in a 1998 plane crash and during his 25-year ProRodeo career.

ProRodeo Sports News 6/12/2020

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