Lane Clyde Frost (October 12, 1963 – July 30, 1989) was an American professional rodeocowboy 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. He sustained fatal injuries at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo when the bull Takin' Care of Business struck Frost with his right horn. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.[1][2]
Early life
At the time of Lane's birth, his parents lived in Lapoint, Utah. His father, Clyde, was on the rodeo circuit as a saddle bronc and bareback rider. His mother, Elsie, went to stay with her parents in Kim, Colorado, and he was born in the hospital in La Junta. He had an older sister, Robin, and a younger brother, Cody.[3][4]
Frost started riding dairy calves around age 5–6. His first rodeo awards were won when he was 10, at the "Little Buckaroos" Rodeos held in Uintah Basin: first in bareback, second in calf roping, and third in the "bull riding" (calf riding) event. He also competed in wrestling in junior high school. The family then moved to Oklahoma and he attended Atoka High School in Atoka.[2] In Oklahoma, he was the National High School Bull Riding Champion in 1981. He was the Bull Riding Champion of the first Youth National Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1982.
Frost joined the PRCA and began rodeoing full-time after graduating from high school in 1982. In 1984, he qualified for his first National Finals Rodeo (NFR). In 1987, he became the PRCA World Champion bull rider at the NFR at age 24. That same year, the bull Red Rock, owned by Growney Bros. Rodeo Company, was voted PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year. In 309 attempts, no one had ever successfully ridden him. In 1988, at the Challenge of the Champions, Frost rode him in seven exhibition matches and was successful in four out of seven tries. He went on to compete at the Rodeo '88 Challenge Cup held as part of the Cultural Olympiad in association with the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.[5] In his lifetime, Frost made it to the NFR for five consecutive years from 1984 to 1988.
Sometime in 1988, John Growney pondered a special competition between the two 1987 Champions.[6] Red Rock had never been successfully ridden during his four-year professional career, despite rodeo cowboys making 309 attempts to ride him. It was decided that Frost and Red Rock would have seven showdowns at different rodeos in states across the West.[6] The event was titled the "Challenge of the Champions."[6] Red Rock was brought out of retirement and Frost rode him to the eight-second whistle for a scoring ride for four of the seven matches.[6]
Death
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 was owned by Bad Company Rodeo, 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, breaking several of his ribs.[7] He initially rose to his feet, took a couple of steps, waved for help, then fell to the ground.[8] Frost was rushed to Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was 25 years old. No autopsy was performed. He posthumously finished third in the event. 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.[9][10]
After Frost's death, Cody Lambert, one of his traveling partners, created the protective vest that professional cowboys now wear when riding bulls.[1][12] Later, in 1996, the PBR made protective vests mandatory.[13]
Since 1996, the PBR has awarded the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award, given for the highest-scoring ride at the PBR World Finals.[14] The Lane Frost Health and Rehabilitation Center in Hugo is dedicated to his memory.
Country music star Garth Brooks paid tribute to Frost in the video for his 1990 hit single "The Dance".[15][16] Rodeo announcer Randy Schmutz wrote the song "A Smile Like That" about him.[17] The 1993 song "Red Rock" by the Smokin' Armadillos is about Frost, and he is mentioned at the end of the video for Korn's 2007 song "Hold On". Aaron Watson's 2012 album, Real Good Time, included the single "July in Cheyenne".[18]Kings of Leon's 2013 music video for "Beautiful War" pays homage to Frost. In 1994, Billy Dean wrote and sang "Once in a While" which appears on the 8 Seconds soundtrack.
Frost's parents have authorized Cowboy Bible: The Living New Testament, with a sketch of him on the cover. A documentary titled "The Challenge of the Champions: The Story of Lane Frost and Red Rock" premiered in 2008. It covers the match between them.[19]
