Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Perhaps it's time to set aside a place in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs for bareback rider Marvin Garrett. There's little doubt that the talented cowboy from Belle Fourche, S.D., will one day find a home there.
Last year, Garrett who his fourth world championship -- not to mention more money than any other bareback rider has won in a single year. Only four cowboys other than Garrett have won four or more bareback riding world championships, and all four have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
You'd think that, after winning so many world titles, another would be old hat. Not for Garrett.
"It was an awful hard championship to get," he admitted.
The season started well for Garrett, a former Wyoming high school wrestling champion. He earned checks at most of the major rodeos early in the year and quickly climbed amont the world-standings leaders.
But owning the lead wasn't enough for Garrett -- not if he was going to break the regular-season bareback earnings record of $90,474, set in 1982 by five-time world champion bareback rider Bruce Ford. So, in late summer, Garrett picked up his already-hectic pace.
"I could tell that i needed to go to all my rodeos to break that," said Garrett. "By August first, I was $30,000 behind that. So we went to rodeos that I normally wouldn't go to."
Garrett's strategy paid off. By the end of the regular season, he had earned $94,713 -- far more that Ford's long-standing mark. He entered the NFR with a lead of about $11,000.
By the close of the NFR, Garrett had set another record. His 1995 earnings of $156,733 eclipsed the bareback season-earnings record of $128,740 set by 1993 world champ Deb Greenough.
It appeared for a time, however, that Garrett might not win his fourth title. He placed in only one of the first four rounds. Meanwhile, 1991 world bareback riding titlist Clint Corey rode well and jumped into the lead.
But Garrett stayed consistent early, then placed in the last six rounds of the NFR. The race wasn't decided until the final round, when Garrett scored 84 points on Calgary Rodeo's Dirt Dancer and earned a tie for second place in the round. Not only did Garrett collect $7,190 for the ride, he also won the NFR's average title -- worth another $30,096 -- and the world championship.
With four gold buckles, Garrett is setting his sights even higher. He hopes this year to tie the record of five bareback riding world championships, a mark shared by Hall of Famers Joe Alexander and Bruce Ford.
"It's a big goal and I was pretty fortunate to get two of 'em knocked out last year and this year," he said. "If a guy just starts shootin' for it, it starts looking more attainable."
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