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mahatmakanejeeves

(60,869 posts)
Tue Jul 30, 2024, 12:16 PM Jul 2024

On this day, July 30, 1989, Lane Frost died.

Hat tip, this article:

July 30, 2024
35 Years After His Death, Lane Frost Is Still Inspiring Country Music
Trigger History



Aaron Watson Performing “July in Cheyenne”

It’s one of the saddest and most compelling stories in rodeo history. And with the way country & Western music is so synonymous with the rodeo, it’s no surprise country music has taken a large share of inspiration from it. 35 years ago today—July 30th 1989—Lane Frost took what has come to be known as “The Last Ride,” climbing atop a Brahma bull and completing a successful 85-point ride before dismounting, and eventually perishing from internal injuries after the bull turned on him.

Lane Frost was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull rider, as well as the National High School Bull Riding Champion in 1981, and the bull riding champion of the first Youth National Finals in Fort Worth in 1982. Originally from Utah, Lane Frost started riding calves at the age of five. As he continued to show promise in the rodeo, his family moved to Oklahoma where Lane went to high school.

But during the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1989 after his ride on the bull Takin’ Care of Business, Frost dismounted in the mud, the bull turned, knocked him over, and pressed his right horn into Lane’s abdomen, causing fatal injuries. Lane Frost was 25 years old.

The 1994 film 8 Seconds starring Luke Perry is based on the life and death of Lane Frost. Lane was also best friends with bull riding champion Tuff Hedeman.

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Lane Frost


Lane Frost at a rodeo event

Born: Lane Clyde Frost; October 12, 1963; La Junta, Colorado, U.S.
Died: July 30, 1989 (aged 25); Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Resting place: Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, Oklahoma

Lane Clyde Frost (October 12, 1963 – July 30, 1989) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull rider. Frost was also the only rider ever to score a qualified ride on Red Rock, the 1987 PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year. During a ride in 1989 nicknamed "The Last Ride", Lane sustained fatal injuries when the bull Takin' Care of Business struck Frost with his right horn. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

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Career

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The Last Ride
Main article: The Last Ride (bull riding accident)

On July 30, 1989, at Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after completing a successful 85-point ride on a Brahma bull named Takin' Care of Business, who Bad Company Rodeo owned, Frost dismounted and landed in the mud. The bull then turned, knocked Frost over, pressed his right horn on Frost's back, and pushed him against the muddy arena floor. Frost initially rose to his feet, took a couple of steps, waved for help, and then fell to the ground; dying on the arena floor from massive internal injuries. He was 25 years old. No autopsy was performed. He posthumously finished third in the event. It was assumed that when Takin' Care of Business pushed Frost against the mud, the bull's entire body weight was at the end of his horn, breaking some of Frost's ribs, which then severed a main artery. Had he lived, he would have made it to his sixth consecutive NFR.

Takin' Care of Business had previously appeared at NFR. His last outing was at the 1990 NFR. He was then retired and put out to stud until he died in 1999.

Frost is buried near his hero and mentor, Freckles Brown, in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, Oklahoma.

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The Last Ride (bull riding accident)

Date: July 30, 1989; 35 years ago
Time: 3:30 pm – 3:59 pm (MDT)
Venue: Cheyenne Frontier Days
Also known as: Lane's Last Ride, The Tragedy in Cheyenne
Type: Animal attack
Cause: The bull's horn hooking Frost
Target: Lane Frost
Perpetrator: Takin' Care of Business
Outcome: Death
Burial: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Hugo, Oklahoma, U.S.
Footage: youtube.com

"The Last Ride" was a professional rodeo accident that happened on July 30, 1989, at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, that resulted in the death of professional bull rider, Lane Frost. He had just ridden a bull named Takin' Care of Business when, after he dismounted, the bull struck him in the back causing several broken ribs and a severed artery. Frost then stood up for a moment before collapsing. He died on the arena floor before he could be transported to the hospital.

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The ride

On July 30, 1989, Frost drew a Brahma bull named Takin' Care of Business, who was owned by Bad Company Rodeo, at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. It was a cold and rainy day leading to mud developing on the arena floor. At 3:30 pm, Frost and the bull exited chute #7. Frost then rode the bull for the full eight seconds, earning an 85-point ride. However, Frost dismounted awkwardly, landing in the bull's eyesight. The bull then stepped on Frost's chaps and hooked him in the back with his right horn. The horn did not break through Frost's skin, but the blow was strong enough to cause massive internal injuries. He then stood up and motioned towards his longtime friend Tuff Hedeman for help before collapsing face-first into the muddy arena floor, puncturing his heart and lungs. Frost was rushed to Memorial Hospital and was pronounced dead at 3:59 pm. He was 25 years old. No autopsy was performed. It was assumed that when Takin' Care of Business pushed Frost against the mud, the bull's entire body weight was at the end of his horn, breaking some of Frost's ribs which then severed a main artery.

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Lane Frost Tribute by George Michael Sports Machine

Rogers Photo Archive

4.33K subscribers

888,342 views Jun 28, 2012
Go to argentaimages.com to view other amazing stories and videos. Lane Frost's legacy and his story is so compelling. You can see that George Michael really cared for Lane Frost perhaps the greatest bull rider of all time.

Sun Dec 24, 2023: On this day, December 24, 2009, DC's WRC-TV sportscaster George Michael died.
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