story by Lily Weinacht
Garrett Wickett from Norfolk, Nebraska, is not only a second generation bull rider, but also a second generation M-SRA competitor, securing his first Rookie of the Year title in his career this fall. The 20-year-old bull rider competed with Mid-States on a high school card last year and won reserve in the year-end for the bull riding, though it didn’t count as his rookie year. “I wanted to compete with them because they’re a good association for me to get started in, and I knew there were plenty of rodeos close to me, so I had a chance at making the finals,” explains Garrett. His dad and two of his uncles rode bulls professionally, and they too embarked on the rodeo trail through the M-SRA. “I competed in some junior rodeos, but it wasn’t until high school that I got on my first bull,” says Garrett. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to ride bulls. What motivates me is wanting to become a champion, and moving on to the professional level and being successful there.”
Garrett has been coached by his dad and uncles since he started competing. “Now that I’m going to school at Mid-Plains Community College (MPCC), Dustin Elliott, who’s a world champion bull rider, coaches me too. There’s too many people to name that have helped me out, but my parents and other rodeo parents in high school helped and supported me.”
Until he started college rodeoing for MPCC in North Platte, Nebraska, Garrett practiced simply by competing in rodeos or working on the drop barrel at home. His perseverance earned him the state bull riding title for Nebraska high school rodeo in 2015, and his second trip to the NHSFR. “I didn’t have very much luck – the bulls there are a completely different caliber – but the experience was pretty awesome. It was neat travelling outside of the state and competing against people from across the nation and Canada and Australia.”
Now at the college level, Garrett is trailing first place in the Great Plains Region by half a point in the bull riding. He won the bull riding at the Iowa State Cyclones rodeo, and split second place at the Iowa Central rodeo this fall. “Being in college, you get to travel a lot further, and in the Great Plains Region, we travel even more, and the rodeos and stock are really good.” Garrett is attending MPCC on a rodeo scholarship, while also majoring in Ag Business.
School is just four hours away from his home in Norfolk, and Garrett uses his free weekends to go pheasant or bow hunting with friends or family. “We hunt on public land, and we also have permission to hunt on private land. It’s hard getting into those areas, but most other people don’t want to go in there, so there’s more game. During the summer, I work for a fencing company, putting up fence or cutting cedar trees, and during school, I try to find work helping ranchers in the area.”
Early in November, Garrett is travelling to Clovis, New Mexico, for the L.J. Jenkins Bull Riding Tour Finals. “This is the first year he’s done a tour, so it’s been pretty cool travelling to his bull ridings, and even more cool that I qualified for the finals,” says Garrett. No matter the rodeo, he always rides with a rosary ring in his pocket, given to him by his grandmother. “She gave it to me in high school, and I’ve competed with it since then,” he explains. “My goal is to make it to the CNFR this year, and my goal for the summer is to make it to the Prairie Circuit finals in the PRCA.”
