RAPID CITY, S.D. – Shorty Garrett is walking tall after shattering the Rodeo Rapid City (S.D.) saddle bronc riding record Feb. 8 to win the iconic rodeo for the second time in his five years of ProRodeo competition.
Garrett’s first Rapid City win came in 2017 when he tangoed with Sutton Rodeos’ Prom Night for 85.5 points. This time around, the cowboy cashed in with a 90.5-point ride on Sutton Rodeos’ South Point – the same bronc his traveling partner Isaac Diaz took for a 90-point ride to win Round 3 of the 2018 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
“Sutton has some really nice horses,” Garrett said. “In 2017, I was on Prom Night, and then I was fortunate to have South Point. I have lots of family there too and that’s nice, it makes a guy want to do a little better.”
With his hometown of Eagle Butte, S.D., less than three hours away Garrett felt as if he had a home-field advantage.
“I could hear everyone hollering, so I thought I’d better not fall off,” Garrett said. “It’s a good feeling. Shoot, we want to win them all, but any time you can win your hometown one is pretty cool.”
Before Garrett’s win, Rapid City’s record of 87 points was shared by ProRodeo Hall of Famer Dan Mortensen (2006) and Brady Harter (2019).
Garrett broke into the ProRodeo scene by finishing third in the 2015 PRCA | Resistol Rookie Standings for saddle bronc riding and has climbed the world standings each year. He narrowly missed qualifying for his first Wrangler NFR in 2019, finishing 18th in the world standings, $14,317 shy of breaking into the Top 15.
“I was short last year, but it makes a guy a little more aggressive,” Garrett said. “I’m super confident in myself this year.”
Garrett’s $4,991 check from Rapid City will give him a healthy boost in the 2020 PRCA | RAM World Standings, where he was third with $15,836. He’ll also rake in some valuable points for the ProRodeo Tour.
Garrett, Diaz and Brody Cress didn’t stick around for long in Rapid City, heading 1,200 miles south for the San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo, followed by the Los Fresnos (Texas) Rodeo, La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Tucson, Ariz., and the 145th Silver Spurs Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla.
But first, they made a pit stop for some Wendy’s late Saturday night.
“It’s just fun, we have a good traveling group and it’s exciting to get in the rig and take off,” Garrett said.
Other winners at the $161,842 rodeo were all-around cowboy Rex Dickinson Treeby ($3,899, tie-down roping and team roping); bareback rider Kyle Bloomquist (88 points on Burch Rodeo’s Fire Fly); steer wrestler Scott Kleeman (3.9 seconds); team ropers Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson (4.5 seconds); tie-down roper Ben Robinson (8.6 seconds); barrel racer Bobbi Grann (12.38 seconds); and bull rider Hawk Whitt (87 points on Sutton Rodeos’ Pepper Lewis).
