CSRA bullrider, Brandon Mendenhall is relieved he doesn’t have to sneak off to rodeos anymore. At 16, he secretly visited practice pens for a chance to get on some bucking stock. Brandon began riding bareback horses but sticks with bulls today. Growing up on a cow/calf operation and feedlot in the small town of Mechanicsburg, Illi., Brandon attended Glenwood High School. He then went on to Oklahoma State where he studied Agriculture-Industrial Mechanics.
Brandon looked up to rodeo legend Lane Frost and counts many friends as mentors in his own rodeo career. He thanks Ray Cox, Terry and Sandy Lots, Daniel James, Jonny Meccici, and Keith Wooten as his greatest influences. Brandon suffered an injury last year that required two surgeries. “Everyone goes through their dark times. You’ve got to find the fun in it again, that’s how you get through it,” he said.
Brandon counts the Hillsboro, Mo. CSRA rodeo as his top pick. “It’s a great rodeo with many great memories to list.” Brandon’s biggest hobby is bullriding but he does work on trucks when he finds the time. “Not many people know that I write poetry,” he added.
This multi-talented cowboy hopes he’s still spurring bulls in the future and “still having fun doing it,” Brandon said. Brandon is the son of David and Susan Mendenhall.
