World championship fulfilled a dream for Scott Mendes

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 4:06 a.m.

For 10 days in December, the dirt immediately in front of the bucking chutes at the $3.4 million National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas became a battlefield for 15 bull riders.

Scott Mendes of Weatherford, Texas, was among those 15 world-title-hungry competitors. In fact, Mendes, a five-time NFR qualifier, was one of only six bull riders to be making a return appearance at the prestigious year-end rodeo. Mendes was the runner-up to Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champ Daryl Mills in 1994.

"I've always felt that I could be a world champion," Mendes, a third-generation bull rider, said before the '97 NFR began. "I started 17 years ago and I won't stop until I get it done."

Mendes entered the NFR ranked seventh in the world standings with $55,645. But that soon would change.

With the passing of each NFR round, Mendes watched as his fellow competitors suffered injury after injury, slowly shrinking the number of contenders in the average race. By Dec. 14 -- the final day of the NFR -- only 10 bull riders, including Mendes, had remained healthy enough to compete in all 10 rounds.

When the last round began, Mendes, 28, led the average race with 557 points on seven bulls. The most bulls any other rider had topped was six.

By the end of round 10, that stat hadn't changed. No rider stayed on more than seven bulls, which earned Mendes the NFR average title and made him the undisputed PRCA world bull riding champion. His NFR haul totaled $64,719, while his year-end earnings rang up to $120,364.

"I've got to give God the glory because this week I was running on empty," said Mendes, who went into the NFR with a nagging injury to his right shoulder. "It seemed every night I kind of prayed and said, 'Lord, you need to be behind me because I am physically exhausted.'"

Adding to Mendes' excitement of winning the world title was the fact that his wife, Angel, and newborn son, Kaden Joshua, were able to share in the victory.