Press Release Archives

2007
October 18th
March 23rd

News Release - Oct. 18, 2007

Rapid City to host 4th Annual Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series

BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. – Oct. 18, 2007 – Four-time world champion and Hall of Fame bareback rider Marvin Garrett has spent much of his career making a name for himself in the arena, but he is now taking on a new rodeo role as event producer of the Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series. Garrett is looking to take the series to new heights, so what better place to do that then in his homestate of South Dakota.

The finals of the 4^th Annual Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series will feature top stock matched with the top cowboys in the three roughstock events of bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. This one of a kind event will take place Oct. 26-27, at 7 p.m. (MT) at the Pennington County Events Center in Rapid City and will officially bring the 2007 Roughstock Series to a close.

“With each event we do the excitement continues to build and we have gotten a good response from the cowboys and the fans,” said Garrett, who has plans for a bigger and better series in 2008. “I am really looking forward to the finals, as we have put together a great package with NFR caliber cowboys and NFR caliber stock. It should be a lot of fun with some great rides.”

A total of 16 contestants in each event, many of which have competed at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, will battle it out on Friday night, Oct. 26, for the 12 spots in the event finals on Saturday. The field of 16 will be made up of the top 10 cowboys from the 2007 series standings and six wild card spots for guys who might not have competed at the previous events. The Saturday field will be made up of the top six contestants based on series standings and the top six finishers from Friday night.

Fans will have the chance to cheer on such greats as three-time World Champion Bareback Rider Will Lowe of Canyon, Texas; 2004 World Champion Bareback Rider Kelly Timberman of Mills, Wyo.; 2007 Badlands Circuit Bareback Riding Champion Scott Montague of Rapid City; 2005 World Champion Saddle Bronc rider Jeff Willert, of Belvidere, S.D.; 2006 Wrangler NFR saddle bronc riding average champion JJ Elshere of Quinn, S.D.; and Wrangler NFR qualifier Jesse Bail.

The Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series is designed to give “the best of the “8” second rides and has been referred to as, “the fastest growing, fastest pace, most talked about rodeo event in the country.” Garrett is making champions 8 seconds at a time.

“I believe this will be a sneak peak at what fans will see come December in Las Vegas at the NFR,” Garrett said. “It will be an action packed couple hours and when the fans leave they will feel like they actually competed. They will be that worn out from the excitement and adrenaline.”

Besides the action in the arena by the cowboys, fans will get a chance to see one of the best in the business of trick riding. Niki Moran, who has performed at the Wrangler NFR and the Canadian National Finals Rodeo, will perform on both Friday and Saturday, while her husband, Shane Moran, will compete in the saddle bronc riding.

The first Marvin Garrett Roughstock Challenge was televised in 2000 as a one-time special TV presentation and it was estimated that viewers numbered in excess of 12 million. The 4^th Annual Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series finals will be aired on the Black Hills Fox network in December.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at Pennington County Events Center for $10 per night, so don’t miss the best of the 8 second rides. Buy your tickets today.

The event is brought to you in part by Star Performance Hitch, The Weather Hat Company, Cinch Jeans and KEVN Black Hills Fox Television.
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FOR RELEASE: 2:00 PM FRIDAY March 23, 2007

The Rapid City Convention Visitors Bureau and the Central States Fair today formalized the agreement with four time PRCA World Champion and Hall of Fame Bareback rider Marvin Garrett to bring the Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series to Rapid City and the Pennington County Event Center.

The Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series is designed to give “the best of the “8” second rides and has been referred to as, “the fastest growing, fastest paced, most talked about rodeo event in the country.”

Roughstock features three main events: Bareback, Saddle bronc, and Bull Riding. This region of the country throughout the history of rodeo has been noted for producing World Champions. “It seems only fitting to make Rapid City “the home” of the Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series and showcase that tradition in the Black Hills of South Dakota,” said Garrett.

“We will be presenting World class cowboys and up and coming rodeo stars against top rodeo stock for the three event classic.” Among the sports top riders who will be participating (*roster below) include: Bareback: Kelly Timberman, Scott Montigue, Larry Sandvick, and J.D. Garrett; Saddle Bronc: Bryce Miller, Red Lemmel, Jake Costello, and Billie Sutton; and Bull Riders: Brian Curtis; Jason Hunsacker; and Aaron Brewer.

The Series starts 7:30 April 5th at the Pennington County Event Center and will feature eight events and a year end finals. Each performance will include two rounds of competition in the three events.
The four springs dates are: April 5th, April 20th, May 11th, and May 18th, and the fall dates will be October 5th, October 19th, November 2nd, and November 16th.

The Series will be produced for rebroadcast on television by Zoli TV (**more information below). 10 episodes will air regionally in April, May, and June and plans are underway to televise it to a national and international audience starting later in the year.

“We are excited about bringing the Series to Rapid City,” said Garrett. “The four month schedule wraps around the busier tourist months and we believe it will draw rodeo fans from around the region and the country. This is our fourth year and the response has been tremendous. Rapid City has welcomed us openly and we look forward to bringing them the best. It is always going to be a family production that is fan, cowboy, and sponsor friendly.

*Roster (not complete list):

Bareback: Chris Timberman; James Boudreaux; Kelly Timberman; Mike Miller; Scott Montigue; Larry Sandvick; J. D. Garrett; Weston Garrett; William Pittman; Chip Dees; Nate Graves; Travis Betchen; Don Miller; Dan Miller: and Dustin Luper.;
Saddle Bronc: Jake Costello, Jeremy Meeks, Billie Sutton; Red Lemmel; Shane Moran; Wade Sankey; Reed Hunsucker; Caleb Acey; D.J. Martin; Thane Tetrault; Brandon West; Zach West; Ryan Elshere; Bryce Miller, J.J. Elshere and Kaden Deal
Bull Riding: Brian Curtis; Corey Maier; Ardy Maier; Luke Meeks; Justin Brown; Dustin Cermack; Cal Pierman; Blue Annis; Dewey O’dea; Casey Stirling; Cole Herron: Cameron Castleberry; Keith Anderson; Chris Novak; Jason Hunsacker; and Aaron Brewer

**ZOLI VAJDA may be the most talented and experienced director of rodeo programs in the world. Long before rodeo was thought of as a mainstream sport, Vajda was directing PRCA rodeos for NBC, CBS, and ESPN. He has directed the National Finals Rodeo an amazing 13 times, beginning almost 30 years ago. Additionally, Vajda has produced and directed such cutting-edge programs as Rodeo Sports Page, a weekly report of Rodeo results he started two decades ago. He has and is currently producing and directing several PRCA rodeo events including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for over 20 years. Vajda brings knowledge of the sport, experience in directing, state of the art filming, editing, and enthusiasm for the success of the Marvin Garrett Roughstock Series.

Additional information:

Stock contractors who will bringing the best of their rodeo stock to the Series are: Flying G Rodeos (Marvin Garrett); Schmidt Rodeo Company; Don Nixon; Bud Longbrake; Lesmeister Rodeo; Broken Arrow Rodeo; Three Arrows Rodeo; and Shane Deal and Tom Reeves.

The Series will initially be introduced with a regional broadcast prime time Sunday evenings on Black Hills-Fox TV, Rapid City, South Dakota. The broadcast area provides coverage in the surrounding five state region (South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska). The first ten episodes will run in April, May, and June.

In addition to the regional TV introduction plans are underway to air the Roughstock Series on RFD-TV. RFD is a basic channel on Dish Network, Direct TV, Mediacom Cable, and National Cable Television Cooperative. It covers all 50 states and Canada, and caters to a predominately rural market. Demographics show regular viewer numbers of 7 million. The first Marvin Garrett Roughstock Challenge was televised in 2000 as a one time special TV presentation and it was estimated that viewers numbered in excess of 12 million.
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Spring 2007