Billings rodeo rider eyes return in Texas

By Joe Kusek of the Billings Gazette - 10/08/2007

BILLINGS — Dan Mortensen wants to compete at the big Texas rodeos in early months of 2008.

Those are events that can determine the rest of the year for those who rodeo for a living.

That’s why he's dusting off his saddle and hitting the road.

The 2008 season for the PRCA officially began last Monday. To qualify for two of the highest- paying rodeos — Houston and San Antonio — Mortensen must start his comeback now. The seven-time world champion from Billings returned to rodeo competition last Friday at the Central Washington Fair in Yakima, Wash., then travels to Texas for rodeos in Marble Falls and Pasadena.

“I bought my (PRCA) card the other day,” Mortensen said.

RodeoHouston will take the top 45 from 2007, along with the top 10 percent from the 2008 standings as of Dec. 31. San Antonio takes the top 70 from the previous year, along with the top 10 percent.

“If a guy is going to rodeo, he has to ride at San Antonio and Houston,” Mortensen said.

Every winner at this year’s Rodeo-Houston has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo. Every event winner currently ranks among the top four in the world standings, and the three roughstock champions — Bobby Mote (bareback), Rusty Allen (saddle bronc) and B.J. Schumacher (bull riding) — lead the world standings. Winners of RodeoHouston earned an average of $55,000.

The average payout for the winners at San Antonio was more than $11,000 and this coming year, the committee is paying the entry fees of the competitors.

After competing at his 16th National Finals Rodeo last December, Mortensen decided to stay home in 2007 to heal up his neck and back. He was bothered by a pinched nerve that rendered his riding arm numb during his saddle bronc rides.

Mortensen spent a lot of time in his workshop, bought himself a new boat to float area rivers and occasionally ventured to invitation-only rodeos. He earned almost $20,000 at the Calgary Stampede and also rodeoed in Australia and eastern Canada.

“I was pretty sore by the end of Calgary,” said Mortensen, who turns 39 this Dec. 16. “I was getting beat up more and more every day. And I wasn't happy about falling off my horse that last day.” With a comeback still lurking in the back of his mind, Mortensen kept in rodeo shape the best he could.

“I tried to stay in pretty good shape,” he said. “I tried to eat right and worked out. But nothing prepares you for getting in riding shape.

“I'm definitely not 100 percent. But then again, I don't think I will ever feel as good as I did 10 years ago.” “Be nice if I could,” he finished with a chuckle.

While he gradually felt better during the summer, he still wasn't sure about his plans for 2008.

“Ever since Calgary, I kind of flip-flopped about the decision for a while,” Mortensen said. “I wasn't sure whether to go or not.” He also plans to compete at the NILE Rodeo at MetraPark Arena in a couple of weeks.

“There just aren't a lot of rodeos to go to this time of year,” Mortensen added. “As long as I can see the people I want to see, I'll treat this more as fun than anything else. I'm not going to go real hard and I'll just see how it goes.

“I kind of took my time to make a decision and the decision I came to was that I wasn't ready to walk away quite yet.”