ProRodeo Sports News - August 7, 2020

CATCHING UP WITH ... MARK GOMES

Fun with Friends

PRCA ProRodeo file photo

Winning the 1998 NFR average with 786 points on 10 head helped Mark Gomes win the 1998 bareback riding world title.

T wo hours south of the exact center of the contiguous U.S. is 1MRanch near Nickerson, Kan., home to Mark Gomes, his wife, Jennifer, and his sons Conor and Colton. When he’s not on the ranch, Mark can often be found drinking coffee with his fellow farmers and ranchers, blending in perfectly with his neighbors. Unless you asked, or took a close look at his buckle, it’d be hard to tell that the 50-year-old cowboy is a former world champion bareback rider. “I go into Kwik Shop and nobody is admiring me, I’m just getting coffee like the farmer who walks in,” Gomes said. “Life after rodeo is different. Building my ranch is the new gold buckle chase.” Gomes won the 1998 world title thanks in part to winning the average at the National Finals Rodeo. “But that was 20 years ago and nobody out here cares what buckle you wear,” Gomes said. “In the rodeo world, world titles are important, but outside of there nobody ever asks.” The Arizona-born cowboy’s ProRodeo career lasted more than a decade. Over that span he won nearly $1 million while making eight trips to the NFR (1994-95, 1997-99, 2001-03). “My dad said this once, ‘When a guy quits rodeoing, he gets down on himself since nobody is interviewing him anymore or wanting autographs,’” Gomes said. “My dad said he never had given one before and it didn’t matter. But when you’re in the limelight, you’ll have some difficulty when you step away and a lot of cowboys get lost.”

ProRodeo friendships stay strong for ’98 world champion

BY MATT NABER

ProRodeo Sports News 8/7/2020

ProRodeo.com

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