Mortensen continues to strive for excellence

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 4:36 a.m.

Four-time world saddle bronc riding champion Dan Mortensen is the first to admit he did not have a spectacular National Finals Rodeo in 1997. At least not by his standards, where excellence has become the norm.

"I wasn't real pleased with the way I rode this week," he said immediately after the 1997 NFR in Las Vegas. "But a guy's got to keep his head in the game and got to keep going out and try to do well the next night. It makes for a long week, but it's pretty rewarding at this point."

Rewarding because, after enduring what Mortensen called the longest week in his life, the cowboy from Manhattan, Mont., earned not one, but two world titles. Mortensen, who turned 29 two days after the NFR, is the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's 1997 world saddle bronc riding champion and 1997 world all-around cowboy.

Mortensen earned $38,608 at the NFR -- a small haul compared to the $62,415 he averaged at his last four NFRs.

But 1997 was a dream season for the soft-spoken bronc rider. Mortensen raked in $152,421 riding broncs and bulls in 1997 prior to the NFR, $145,951 of which counted in the all-around standings. Mortensen earned most of that money riding saddle broncs and, consequently, entered the NFR leading second-ranked bronc rider Robert Etbauer by more than $50,000.

But after placing in the NFR's first two rounds, Mortensen drew a firecracker bronc named Copenhagen Desperado of the Korkow Rodeo company. The horse threw Mortensen to the ground before the eight-second whistle, and the cowboy plunged from second to 11th place in the NFR bronc riding average standings.

But even after the buck-off, Mortensen didn't panic.

'I've been in that position before, to get thrown off early and have to spend the rest of the week battling," he said.

Mortensen's commanding lead in the saddle bronc riding standings went untouched despite the being bucked off, allowing the Montana cowboy to clinch his fourth world bronc riding title. He also won the title in 1993, '94 and '95.

The all-around race, however, was a nail-biter.

Mortensen battled two Texas contestants for the all-around title: Cody Ohl of Orchard, who went on to claim the 1997 world calf roping title, and Joe Beaver of Huntsville, the defending all-around champ and the only cowboy to qualify for the '97 NFR in two events.

Prior to the NFR, Ohl trailed Mortensen by more than $30,000, while Beaver, a calf roper and team roper, lagged behind by nearly $50,000. But both roped well enough to chip away at Mortensen's lead. By the start of the 10th round, the bronc rider's advantage had nearly vanished.

Mortensen needed to do more than just show up for the final round. He needed to score and score big.

Mortensen's 10th-round horse, Range Sheep of the Sankey Rodeo Co., carried the bronc rider to 86 points -- enough to tie for second and earn $8,020. The payoff sealed up the all-around buckle for Mortensen. Even a 7.3-second, round-winning effort by Beaver less than 30 minutes later wasn't enough to push Mortensen off the top.

Mortensen earned $184,559 in official all-around money in 1997, compared to $180,525 by Beaver and $168,900 by Ohl. Though it took Mortensen 110 bronc rides and eight bull rides to get there, he earned his all-around buckle.

"I needed to make the money I made today," Mortensen said after wrapping up his titles. "It came down to the money I won in the bull riding (during the season), it came down to the money I won in the average (a sixth-place check for $5,595). It was that close that every horse I got on, every animal I got on, it mattered."