Please meet your Pick Up Men - Bobby Marriott and Matt Twitchell
Unspoken heroes in the rodeo arena!
Bobby Marriott and Matt Twitchell - Pick Up Men
photo by Liz Breault
Pick Up Men play an important role during any rodeo. They get riders safely off the bucking horse and remove the livestock from the arena. Pick Up Men must be skilled horsemen and ropers. They bring a vast amount of rodeo knowledge and years of livestock experience to every rodeo.
Bareback and Saddle Bronc riders know that their ride is not over after the eight seconds have passed and the horn sounds – they still have to exit the horse safely. If the bronc rider becomes entailed in the rigging, Pick Up Men may only have a split second to free him from his bucking mount. Once the Pick Up Men have rescued the bronc rider and gotten him safely to the ground, they must remove the flank strap from the horse and escort it out of the arena.
Bobby Marriott - Woodcross, Utah
Bobby Marriott
photo by Liz Breault
Bobby Marriott is an accomplished Pick Up Man who joined the Growney Brothers Rodeo Company (website) about 14 years ago. Bobby was born in Ogden, Utah. He moved to Idaho as a teenager. In high school he competed in all three rough stock events. He was awarded the Idaho High School Rodeo Bronc Riding Championship in 1981.
After high School, he rodeoed for a few years before going to work for Jay Hogan's Rodeo Company as a Pick Up Man. He also worked and picked-up for Lewis Fields. In 1997, Bobby went to work for the Growney Brothers Rodeo Company.
Bobby has demonstrated his proficiency as Pick Up Man on numerous occasions. He was selected to pick-up at the Dodge Finals in Pocatello, Idaho in 1999 and 2004. He was chosen to be pick-up man for the 2002 Olympic Rodeo where the Canadian cowboys faced off against the cowboys of the United States. In 2006 and again in 2009, he was voted by the PRCA rough stock riders to pick-up at the PRCA National Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bobby and his wife Michelle live in Woodcross, Utah.
Matt Twitchell - Venice, Utah
Matt Twitchell
photo by Liz Breault
Matt Twitchell is one of the newest members of the Growney Brothers Rodeo crew (website). He started picking up for Growney in 2010.
Matt rode bulls, broncs, and bareback horses in high school. He also rodeoed while attending college at the University of Utah. He credits Bobby Marriott and Lewis Fields for the knowledge and skills he possesses as a Pick-Up Man.
When Matt isn't rodeoing, he works on ranches, rides some outside colts, and occasionally has time for some hunting. Matt and his beautiful wife Molly make their home in Venice, Utah.
We are very pleased to welcome both Bobby Marriott and Matt Twitchell as the Pick Up Men for the 2012 PRCA RAM California Circuit Finals Rodeo.
Growney Bros. Rodeo Company
photo by Liz Breault