Brandon Gonzales, the 39-year-old heeler from Lipan, Texas who just last February won the Clay Logan Open with Erich Rogers just days after a chemotherapy treatment, died Jan. 5 following his battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
A father to daughter Londyn, 11, and son, Gripp, 9, and husband of 12 years to wife, Holly, Gonzales’ story of faith and grit inspired all who knew him and the rodeo and roping community as a whole. The longtime horse shoer dragged himself out of bed last February to go rope with his childhood friend, World Champion Erich Rogers, at the Clay Logan Open, and that day they were high call and got the win and $42,000 for Gonzales’ first major open title.
“Brandon and I grew up in the era of young jackpotters,” Rogers remembered after getting the news of Gonzales’ passing. “I watched him since he was a kid, with the high school rodeos and the New Mexico and Indian Rodeo Association stuff. He was heading, mostly, but he could always heel. I remember the day of the Clay Logan, and I drew him as a second partner, and I was excited because I knew he could heel.
“He didn’t think he’d make it that day, but he bared down and came to the jackpot and roped. We won that roping, and that was a good day for him fighting the battle. It was mind over matter, however he did it, he showed up and won. That’s who he was. He was a fighter and a winner all the time. I was so excited for him—it wasn’t my day, it wasn’t our day—it was his day with his family. It was a long time coming. That was a Brandon Gonzales Day for me, and I’ll always remember it with a big smile. He was so happy, and he was never dull, ever since we were kids.”
When TRJ writer Julie Mankin interviewed him last April after he won the Clay Logan Open with Rogers, she was struck by how authentic he was, and not only about his fierce love of roping and lifelong dream to rope well. How could he be so congenial after more than a year of grueling treatment? How could his faith be so rock-solid amid the tidal wave of fear that comes with a cancer diagnosis?
“Brandon showed us how to be brave by continuing to do what he enjoyed and showed us how to lean on our Creator,” Mankin said. “His inner strength, authenticity and straight-up being such a nice guy, along with his steadfast faith, couldn’t help but motivate others. “
He left a legacy we can all aspire to when he told Mankin, “Let’s enjoy every moment we’re here, and try to make it better for somebody else.”
