Lane Frost A Fallen Champinion Essay, Research Paper

Lane Frost

Lane Frost was a bull rider that had a talent for riding bulls and died doing what he loved. Lane died at the Cheyenne Frontier Days in a battle between a 5′11”, 145-lb. man and a 2000 lb. bull named Taking Care of Business. He rode bull the for eight seconds, then tried to get off of it but as he did the bull turned and hooked him. It broke his ribs which punctured a main artery. Because of this Lane Frost died at 1:30 p.m. July 30, 1989 (Angier 1-76). The Movie “Eight Seconds” was made for Lane about his life. That date will live in every cowboy’s mind forever.

Lane was born on October 12, 1963, in LaJunta, Colorado, to Clyde and Elsie. Lane showed an interest in rodeo at the age of three, he wanted to take after his dad. In 1977, his family moved to Lane, Oklahoma. Lane was learning his riding techniques from his dad and Freckles Brown a bull riding legend. In 1981, he won the bull-riding event at the National High School Rodeo Finals, which was his first big title. At the age of nineteen he attained a full membership to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (P.R.C.A.). In 1983, he also received the “Rookie of The Year” runner-up. January 5, 1985, would change his life totally he got married to Kellie. In 1987, Lane became the youngest cowboy ever, at the age of 24, to win World Champion Bull Rider. In 1988, Lane took a challenge to be the first man of 309 to previously try to ride Red Rock for eight seconds (Mahrley 1-24).

Red Rock’s owner and Lane had a deal that Lane would have eight chances to ride Red Rock for a large sum of money. Red Rock was born in Oregon, in 1976. He is named after a rock formation near the ranch. He started rodeo when he was two. His owner became a local legend for having a bull no one could ride for six years. In 1984, Red Rock was sold to a stock contractor in California. With his new owners, who put him on the Pro Rodeo Circuit, he continued to buck off riders309 attempts was made until 1987 (Pro Rodeo 1-7).

Lane took the “Challenge of Champions”, the match between the 1987 champion bull rider and the champion bucking bull. He rode Red Rock four of seven times in different arenas in the summer of 1988. He defeated all the odds and overcame the people that said that he had no chance at all after (Pro Rodeo 1-7). In early 1989, Lane put together, a bull ride, called Bullmanina in Guthrie, Oklahoma the ride was to pay tribute to a good friend, Freckles Brown. Later that year was a fateful date in history Lane died on July 30, 1989, riding Taking Care of Business in Cheyenne, Wyoming (Angier 1-76). In 1994, the movie “8 Seconds” was released to pay tribute to Lane’s life as a bull rider. Lane is played by Luke Perry.

“Eight Seconds” is a movie and a book about Lane’s life as a bull rider. It is not historically accurate to his life. Lane was a born again Christian and the movie did not mention that. His parents and family were upset that his religion was left out. The movie told a story of a perfect life and his was far from that. He had some low points that they did not tell about like braking many bones wile-riding bulls. This was like any other biographical movie they are not always accurate.

The movie had more good parts than bad. Most of the movie is fairly accurate and it is true to most of Lane’s life. At the beginning of the movie Lane is a young man going to rodeos with his friend Tuff Hedemen. Tuff was more experienced than Lane and they had a friendly rivalry. In the beginning, Tuff beat Lane but later Lane got just as good as Tuff.

Lane’s accident lead to many new safety rules for all bull riders. Now bucking stock competitors have to wear protective vests made of leather and kevlar. Some competitors now wear a mask similar to a hockey player. The clowns are not there just for entertainment, they have a job. The rodeo clowns help protect the rider from injury when he gets thrown of, they shield him or her from the animal so the rider can get to safety. The Justin Healers came about because of Lanes injury’s, they are a group of paramedics and doctors that travel with all the major rodeos. They are the riders’ doctors while they are on the road. When a rider gets injured, the healers are there to get them up and back on the circuit as soon as possible (Pro Rodeo 1-7).

Lanes’ life was like a big bull ride: if you are thrown you get back up and ride again. He had to overcome hardships in his life and he kept pushing and made it all the way to the top. Lane did not ride for the money or the fame; he rode for the love of the sport. He was only 25 when he hit the top as the youngest bull-riding champion in the history of the P.R.C.A. Once he made it to the top he stayed there until his death in 1989. If Lane had not died he would still be at the top of the bull riding standings. Every bull rider in the world knows the story of Lane Frost “The Fallen Champion”.