Published: August 01, 2009 11:04 pm      

Bull rider’s legacy lives, 20 years later

On a darkened, cloudy and drizzly Sunday afternoon at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, Lane Frost eased atop a snorting bull named Taking Care Of Business.

At the final performance of the sport’s equivalent to a Wimbledon stage, the 1987 world champion bailed off the bull after eight seconds and rolled onto the soggy soil.

Taking Care Of Business then charged and plunged his mammoth ivory horns in Frost’s back. The hit caused massive internal bleeding, ending Frost’s life within minutes, medical officials said.

Frost’s legacy lives, however, and the 20th anniversary of his death was acknowledged late last week. He was killed at age 25 on July 30, 1989.

I witnessed the fatality while reporting on the famous Wyoming rodeo as a newspaper writer. I even had the privilege of speaking to Frost briefly in the sports medicine trailer shortly before the matinee performance began.

Frost always was great to talk to and he was one remarkable cowboy who envisioned spurring the sport to another level.

Today, the top performers sew on as many sponsorship patches as their bulletproof vests can hold while competing on a lucrative, nationally televised tour.

With his rugged good looks, charismatic personality and championship riding style, Frost would have fit in well with all of that.

“He was very dazzling,” said Kellie Macy of Post, who was Frost’s wife at the time of his death. “He was dynamic in who he was and what he did.”

In the two decades since Frost’s death, pro rodeo and bull riding have adopted many of the practices and formats from more popular sports, and have used the type of life that Frost lived as a model.

Three examples:

• A national tour of all-stars: In 1985 and 1986, Frost competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Winston Tour, a series of shows that featured the sport’s marquee competitors. Three years after Frost’s death, Tuff Hedeman and Cody Lambert, who were Frost’s traveling partners, became founding patriarchs of Professional Bull Riders.

Today, the PBR features the Built Ford Tough Series world title race, which features a cast of all-star cowboys and the sport’s rankest bulls in more than 30 cities throughout North America. The tour stops regularly are broadcasted on Versus.

• A Bull vs. Cowboy promotion: In 1988, Frost engaged in a best-of-seven series against a bull named Red Rock. The bull, which had never had a qualified ride on his back after 309 tries, was brought out of retirement for the series against Frost on the West Coast. Frost stayed aboard Red Rock four times.

Today, highly touted showdowns commonly are staged in addition to the regulation rodeo and bull riding performances.

• The necessity for protective equipment: Frost was not wearing a protective vest when he died. Twenty years ago, virtually no competitor wore protective gear. Today, almost every bull rider at least wears a vest and more cowboys are strapping on helmets.

Frost’s legacy has accelerated down a network of other trails. His biography is portrayed in the 1994 Hollywood movie, “8 Seconds,” with Luke Perry playing the lead role.

Last year, western riding documentary producer David Wittkower released a well-researched DVD called “The Challenge of Champions: The Story of Lane Frost and Red Rock.”

Today, a statue of Frost riding a bull graces the hallowed grounds of Cheyenne’s rodeo, which concluded its 113th edition last weekend.

• • • • •

More than 220,000 Bibles that feature a picture of Frost have been mailed from Frost’s family church in Southeastern Oklahoma. His parents say the story of Lane’s Christian faith has gained numerous converts after his life testimony is read from the Bibles.

His parents, Clyde and Elsie Frost, live in Lane, Okla., and make numerous public appearances at rodeos and church services. His wife, Kellie Macy, is married to two-time National Finals Rodeo team roping competitor Mike Macy, and they faithfully promote Frost’s legacy.

“At the time that Lane was competing, I don’t think I really appreciated who he was and was to other people,” Kellie Macy said. “But now, I draw off of that. We live from day to day and it’s sometimes hard to realize what we have in other people. But that changes for the better as we grow older and gain more wisdom.”