Ride of his life

Spencer Patterson

Friday, June 15, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

To most observers, the death-defying aspect of bareback riding begins the moment horse and rider come flying out of the chute, as the horse begins bucking and the rider hangs on for dear life.

Nearly one year ago, Mark Gomes learned the hard way that disaster can strike before the event itself even officially starts.

Last July, the veteran rider -- leading the world rankings in his event at the time -- suffered a gruesome, career-threatening injury when notoriously rowdy horse Sheep Tick bucked and landed on him as the duo prepared to exit the chute at an event in Cheyenne, Wyo.

"The moment I nodded for them to open the gate, he flipped over in the chute on top of me and broke my pelvis in three places, in the front and on both sides of my spine in the back," Gomes said. "I lay there, couldn't feel my legs. It was an eye-opening moment in my life."

Told by doctors he would be bedridden for three months and warned by several friends that he would never ride again, Gomes defied the odds. Within six weeks, he was out of his wheelchair, and by October, he was back on a horse.

Though Gomes' full return to the sport didn't come in time to qualify him for the season-culminating National Finals Rodeo, it was enough to restore his confidence heading into the 2001 season. On Thursday night in the Copenhagen Cup Finale at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, he continued his strong showing this year, posting a score of 83 -- fifth best in the field -- to put himself in good position to qualify for Saturday's main event.

"I felt like I rode really good tonight," said Gomes, whose score will be averaged with his finish in tonight's round to determine if he will compete on Saturday. "This is a marathon, not a sprint."

For Gomes, any obstacle he may face this week will pale in comparison not only with what he faced during his physical rehabiliation, but also with the surprise he found waiting for him in May's Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Tour.

The horse Gomes drew for that event? None other that Sheep Tick, the animal who had fallen on him just 10 months earlier.

"I was nervous," the 31-year-old Nickerson, Kan., native admitted. "With him and me having the history, it made it more dramatic."

Gomes rose to the occasion, scoring an arena-record 87 points to capture the event. "It was a fitting end to a bad deal, a good way to end that chapter."

In team roping, Texans Martin Lucero and Kevin Stewart combined for a first-place finish of 6.5 seconds, 0.2 seconds ahead of two other pairs. Jesse Bail of Camp Crook, S.D., won the saddle bronc riding competition with a score of 90 points.

Johnny Emmons of Grandview, Texas, captured first place in calf roping, winning with a time of 8.1 seconds, while Tara Polich of Canby, Ore., and Kelly Yates of Pueblo, Colo., split first prize in barrel racing with identical times of 13.56 seconds. And in bull riding, Danell Tipton of Ogden, Utah, was one of just four riders to finish a successful ride, posting a winning score of 85.