Rodeo: Former 'Cat Mortensen back to his cowboy ways

By JIM CNOCKAERT Chronicle Sports Writer

Dan Mortensen woke up sore the morning after his Saturday night saddle bronc ride in the Chase Hawks Memorial Rough Stock Invitational Rodeo, but it was a good kind of sore.

Chronicle File Archive Dan Mortensen, a former MSU cowboy and six-time world saddle bronc champion, is feeling the stiffness from competing in the Chase Hawks Memorial Rough Stock Invitational Rodeo on Saturday in Billings. Mortensen took time off from rodeoing last year to give his body time to heal. His upper legs and groin ached, and Mortensen knew that came from being out of riding shape - not surprising for a cowboy who's taken much of the past year off.

“It was the kind of soreness I can live with,” Mortensen said as he looked back on Saturday's ride at Billings' Metra Park Arena. “I tried to stretch out the best I could, but if you're not in shape or you're not ready, you're going to feel it.

“The only way to get into riding shape is to go out and do it. There are just certain muscles you don't use unless you're riding bucking horses.”

What encouraged Mortensen is that it was not a numbness in his arm or a shooting pain in his legs caused by being jerked back violently during a ride. That was the kind of recurring pain that prompted Mortensen a year ago to take what amounted to a leave of absence from the sport.

It really wasn't a complete leave. Mortensen traveled to Australia early last spring to conduct on a saddle bronc clinic, and he competed in two rodoes down under. He honored his commitment to ride in last summer's Calgary Stampede, and he won $13,500 - more than all but one bronc rider.

Mortensen, the Billings native and former Montana State cowboy who's won six world saddle bronc championships, is now easing his way back onto the circuit. The 2008 Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association season began in October, and Mortensen's been to five rodeos. He hasn't won much money, but he's encouraged because he's walked away from each event with no health problems.

Saturday's ride in front of a home crowd was the latest step in his comeback. The Chase Hawks Rodeo typically attracts some of the finest cowboys in the world, and they compete on stock drawn from the National Finals Rodeo.

“Events like that are fun,” he said. “When you enter it, you know you'll have a good horse, and you know the competition level is good. A rodeo like that is enjoyable to watch. There were a lot of good rides, and you know it will be that way. That level of competition always makes a guy crave it a little bit more.”

Mortensen said he expected to have a difficult time being away from the circuit, but he was surprised to discover that he didn't miss it all that much. He didn't miss the travel - or the pain. He was perfectly happy, he said, just to hang around the house.

Mortensen won his last world championship in 2003 - tying him with the legendary Casey Tibbs for the most ever - and he was poised to win a seventh the following season before he seriously injured his left ankle during the ProRodeo Tour's season championship in Dallas. Mortensen needed surgery to repair that injury, and he still deals with discomfort because of it.

It's a mistake to assume that Mortensen wants to return for another shot at breaking the record he shares with Tibbs. That record has never been a big deal to him, he said, nor was it ever a goal. His goal has always been to do the best he could, he said. Because he hadn't been riding the way he knew he could - and he recognized that injuries were a big reason for that - he decided to take some time away.

So why come back? Mortensen said he based much of his decision on conversations he had last summer with two older cowboys, including Winston Bruce, a former world champion from the 1960s.

“His advice was to go a little bit this year to see how things go,” he said. “He said you start missing it the second or third year away, and that's when you wish you'd given it another year. Plus, I had to go this year to keep my qualifications valid. I'll see how it goes and adjust my schedule from there.”

Mortensen learned one important thing during his time away: He knows he can live without rodeo.

“I made the right decision to take that time off,” he said. “I kind of relaxed, and that was important. I know now I can walk away and be fine with it. I know I will not miss it all that terribly bad if I decide to walk away from it for good.”

But he also learned Saturday night that rodeo fans still appreciate what he brings to the arena. The capacity Metra crowd roared when Mortensen was introduced just before his ride, and the cheer was even louder after he rode for eight seconds. As he strode out of the arena, he exchanged handshakes and high fives with fans in the stands.

“It was a neat experience,” he said. “It's heartwarming, I guess, to know that you have that kind of support from local people. I had a lot of friends there and a ton of people I knew. It's always good to do well in a situation like that."

Reader Comments