George, who alongside the likes of Ramon Figueroa and Doyle Gellerman was a pallbearer at Mark's memorial service, told me of how Mark's Uncle Joe got him started roping in an otherwise non-rodeo-type family. Mark was a state champion team roper in high school, and a West Coast Region team roping titlist heading for Joe Parsons in college. When he got his amateur card, he won that, too. Mark and George got their PRCA cards together in 1979, and Mark made his first NFR that same year. George roped at his first of four Finals the following year.
"He made it the first time, and I didn't," grinned George, who lives in Picacho, Ariz. "Mark and I were really tight all the way through. He was extra serious, to the point of ridiculousness. We used to make fun of him because he was so focused."
Mark roped at that first Finals with Dennis Motes. His other NFR partners included Rickey, Rick Marron, Jerold Camarillo, J.D. Yates and Shawn Howell.
"Mark was a guy who could win first place," George said. "He didn't just go. He won first. Besides winning the BFI and George Strait, he also won the Riverside Rancheros roping with Tommye Flenniken. He won my Tubac Pro Roping with Bobby Harris when it was winner-take-all. Mark won every major roping and rodeo you can come up with that mattered when he was roping. And he was a professional, from his rig being immaculate to dressing sharp.
"Mark was a competitor. He didn't like to lose, but he was a good sport and he was humble when he won. He was not a cocky person. He was extra focused and humble when he won. What a lot of people didn't know was that Mark Arnold knew every best place to eat from coast to coast, and he would drive out of his way to find them. Once he found a really good place, he remembered how to get there and what to order. On the way home from the George Strait when he won it, we stopped at least at 15 places along the way and ordered the best food. That's just one more thing I'll miss. He also left behind three lovely children, and I'm going to do everything in my power to pick up where he left off with them."
Like Clay, George remembers Mark's funny bone.
"Mark was a comical guy," he said. "And he was a generous guy. He'd give you anything he had. He'd loan you his horse or his rig. He was also a practical joker. He'd have a trailer full of hay, but he'd take your hay and laugh. He'd throw a snake on your bed or in the shower with you. You didn't really want to get on his bad side or it was war. Paybacks were terrible."
Naturally, George mentioned Mark's main mount during the course of our conversation.
"Most of his accomplishments were on that horse," he said. "Mark always knew the importance of riding the best horse, and he pretty much did just that. Before he got Rebel, he had another really good one. When he lost Rebel, he bought Bret Boatright's good black mare."
George holds a weekly roping, and the first time Mark's 17-year-old son Matt showed up, he left with the saddle.
"I'm telling you, look out," George said. "We're going to hear lots of stuff from this kid. He's a natural, and he has that same gleam in his eye that Mark had."
