Mark Garrett (born August 19, 1965) is an American former professional

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

who specialized in bareback bronc riding. He competed in the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

(PRCA) and won the PRCA bareback riding world championship in 1996.

Life and career

Mark Garrett was born in

Gettysburg, South Dakota Gettysburg is a city in and the county seat of Potter County, South Dakota, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 1,104 at the 2020 census. History Gettysburg was platted in 1884. The city was named in commemoration of th ...

. He is the younger brother of Marvin Garrett, a fellow former bareback rider. Mark qualified for the

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the f ...

(NFR) a total of nine times in his career; 1989-1991, 1994-1997, and 1999-2000. In 1996, he won the PRCA bareback riding world championship, as well as the NFR bareback riding average. Other major titles he won were the PRCA Mountain States Circuit bareback riding championship in 1992 and 1993, the PRCA Badlands Circuit bareback riding championship in 1999 and 2002, and the National Circuit Finals Rodeo

all-around The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships. Championship ...

championship in 2000. Marvin won the PRCA bareback riding world championship in 1988, 1989, 1994, and 1995. On November 4 1998, Mark and Marvin Garrett, saddle bronc rider Scott Johnston, and

bull rider Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To rec ...

Thad Bothwell were traveling between rodeos in a single engine Cessna-210 when it crashed into a row of trees and caught on fire in

Lodi, California Lodi ( ) is a city in San Joaquin County, California, United States, in the center portion of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 66,348 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History When a gro ...

. They were on their way to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to compete at the Grand National Rodeo, the last regular-season PRCA rodeo before the NFR in December. Mark helped his traveling partners escape the burning plane. Marvin suffered a fractured vertebra and broken right arm, while Johnston suffered serious internal injuries and a broken back. The airplane's pilot, retired rodeo cowboy Johnny Morris suffered a broken back and burns on over 70 percent of his body. The three were hospitalized at

UC Davis Medical Center UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California, Davis campus. The ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. Bothwell suffered a broken back, while Mark was the least hurt of the group; only suffering some cuts and bruises. Both were hospitalized at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton. Morris died from his injuries two weeks after the incident. A leaking fuel pump was later determined to be the cause of the crash. In 2015, Mark Garrett was inducted into the

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, p ...

. His brother Marvin was inducted in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Mark 1965 births Living people Bareback bronc riders ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees