"The story of Lane Frost is a simple one.
He'd help in the chutes, never said no to a fan,
never kicked at the earth or threw his hat in public
after an unfair low score.
A good friend, a good husband."
Kellie Frost~
Cheyenne, 1993 Statue Dedication
He'd help in the chutes, never said no to a fan,
never kicked at the earth or threw his hat in public
after an unfair low score.
A good friend, a good husband."
Kellie Frost~
Cheyenne, 1993 Statue Dedication
“He had an impossible mix of human traits.
Humble, yet one of the most famous and talented rodeo cowboys to ever ride a bull.
Confident, yet too polite to ask for help while he lay in bed with a punctured lung.
Awful with names, yet quick to remember a stranger's face after years had passed.
Tireless worker, yet able to drop everything in a flash for a friend in need.
He was John Wayne to some, and Elvis or James Dean to others.
Whether you knew him for five minutes or five years, you would swear Lane Frost was your best friend.”
- Ian St. Clair
Humble, yet one of the most famous and talented rodeo cowboys to ever ride a bull.
Confident, yet too polite to ask for help while he lay in bed with a punctured lung.
Awful with names, yet quick to remember a stranger's face after years had passed.
Tireless worker, yet able to drop everything in a flash for a friend in need.
He was John Wayne to some, and Elvis or James Dean to others.
Whether you knew him for five minutes or five years, you would swear Lane Frost was your best friend.”
- Ian St. Clair
Lane's Dream
Elsie and Clyde Frost, Lane’s parents, remembering how Lane took an interest to bull riding at a very young age.
“Clyde always liked to leave the rodeo early so we could get out ahead or the crowd,” Elsie recalled. “I had noticed that Lane would sleep through most of the rodeo, but when the bull riding would start he would wake up and really start watching what was going on. This particular time (at the San Antonio Livestock Exposition and Rodeo) I got up to go when there were still four or five bull riders left. I had Robin (Lane’s big sister) by the hand and was carrying Lane, with a diaper bag and purse slung over one shoulder. As we walked out of the seating area, Lane started to cry and looked back towards the arena. I thought, ‘He acts like he wants to stay and watch the bull riding, but no, he’s not old enough to know what’s going on.’ Just to see what be would do, I turned around and walked back in where we could see the arena and what was going on. He stopped crying immediately. At such a young age, I attributed it to the fact that the bells on the bull ropes made a lot of noise. But I was wrong. There was just something about bull riding that fascinated Lane.”
“We always had a lot of dairy calves around that the kids fed on bottles,” Clyde remembers. “One day, when Lane was 7 or 8, I walked by the corral and saw him sitting on one of the calves, kicking it and trying to get it to go. I wondered how he’d gotten that baling twine (his makeshift bull rope) on him, so I watched awhile without Lane knowing I was there. He’d run a calf into the corner of the corral, where he’d made a ‘v’ by tying up an old panel. Lane stood behind the calf, so he couldn’t back out, and held the panel with one band while he put the string around the calf with his other hand. How he kept from getting kicked I will never know. It was hot out there, and sweat was dripping off of Lane’s head. He finally got the string pulled up and tied, than slipped up on the calf’s back from behind and kicked the panel out of the way with his foot. The calf moved a couple steps, then stopped. With his free hand high in the air, Lane started kicking to try to get him to move. Lane still didn’t know I was there, and I couldn’t resist telling my dog to ‘sic-em.’ The calf bellered and jumped about twice, and Lane hit the dirt. As he started to get up, his eyes were wide with surprise, and be asked, ‘What happened?’ Than he saw me and figured out what happened. He said, ‘That was fun, Dad, let’s do it again.'”
“Clyde always liked to leave the rodeo early so we could get out ahead or the crowd,” Elsie recalled. “I had noticed that Lane would sleep through most of the rodeo, but when the bull riding would start he would wake up and really start watching what was going on. This particular time (at the San Antonio Livestock Exposition and Rodeo) I got up to go when there were still four or five bull riders left. I had Robin (Lane’s big sister) by the hand and was carrying Lane, with a diaper bag and purse slung over one shoulder. As we walked out of the seating area, Lane started to cry and looked back towards the arena. I thought, ‘He acts like he wants to stay and watch the bull riding, but no, he’s not old enough to know what’s going on.’ Just to see what be would do, I turned around and walked back in where we could see the arena and what was going on. He stopped crying immediately. At such a young age, I attributed it to the fact that the bells on the bull ropes made a lot of noise. But I was wrong. There was just something about bull riding that fascinated Lane.”
“We always had a lot of dairy calves around that the kids fed on bottles,” Clyde remembers. “One day, when Lane was 7 or 8, I walked by the corral and saw him sitting on one of the calves, kicking it and trying to get it to go. I wondered how he’d gotten that baling twine (his makeshift bull rope) on him, so I watched awhile without Lane knowing I was there. He’d run a calf into the corner of the corral, where he’d made a ‘v’ by tying up an old panel. Lane stood behind the calf, so he couldn’t back out, and held the panel with one band while he put the string around the calf with his other hand. How he kept from getting kicked I will never know. It was hot out there, and sweat was dripping off of Lane’s head. He finally got the string pulled up and tied, than slipped up on the calf’s back from behind and kicked the panel out of the way with his foot. The calf moved a couple steps, then stopped. With his free hand high in the air, Lane started kicking to try to get him to move. Lane still didn’t know I was there, and I couldn’t resist telling my dog to ‘sic-em.’ The calf bellered and jumped about twice, and Lane hit the dirt. As he started to get up, his eyes were wide with surprise, and be asked, ‘What happened?’ Than he saw me and figured out what happened. He said, ‘That was fun, Dad, let’s do it again.'”
Timeline of Lane's Life
1963 - Lane Frost was born (October 12)
1978 - Champion of the Small Fry Rodeo Association
1980 - Champion of Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association
1980 - Runner-up of the National High School Rodeo Association
1981 - Champion of the National High School Rodeo Association
1981 - Champion of the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association
1982 - Champion of the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association
1982 - Champion of the American Junior Rodeo Association
1982 - Graduated for Atoka High School
1982 - Champion of the 1st annual Youth Nationals Finals
1983 - Rookie of the Year runner-up
1983 - Champion of the PRCA Prairie Circuit
1983 - “Tough Luck” Award at the Super Bull
1984 - 9th in the World Standings
1985 - Marries Kellie Kyle
1985 - Winston Tour Rodeo
1985 - 3rd in the World Standings
1986 - Champion Runner-Up of the Winston Tour
1986 - Co-Champion of the Super bull (along with Tuff)
1986 - 3rd int the World Standings
1987 - Freckles Brown dies of cancer
1987 - Champion of the Pendleton Round Up
1987 - Champion of the Texas Circuit
1987 - WORLD CHAMPION BULL RIDER
1988 - Competed on the U.S. Rodeo Team in the Winter Olympics
- The U.S. Team won the gold
- Lane won the bronze
1988 - Challenge of the Champions - Lane 4 - Red Rock 3
1988 - 6th in the World Standings
1989 - Helps organize “Bullmania, a Tribute to Freckles Brown”
(Now known as “Bullnanza, a Tribute to Freckles Brown and Lane Frost”)
1989 - Lane Frost dies in Cheyenne (July 30)
1990 - Lane Frost was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame
1978 - Champion of the Small Fry Rodeo Association
1980 - Champion of Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association
1980 - Runner-up of the National High School Rodeo Association
1981 - Champion of the National High School Rodeo Association
1981 - Champion of the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association
1982 - Champion of the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association
1982 - Champion of the American Junior Rodeo Association
1982 - Graduated for Atoka High School
1982 - Champion of the 1st annual Youth Nationals Finals
1983 - Rookie of the Year runner-up
1983 - Champion of the PRCA Prairie Circuit
1983 - “Tough Luck” Award at the Super Bull
1984 - 9th in the World Standings
1985 - Marries Kellie Kyle
1985 - Winston Tour Rodeo
1985 - 3rd in the World Standings
1986 - Champion Runner-Up of the Winston Tour
1986 - Co-Champion of the Super bull (along with Tuff)
1986 - 3rd int the World Standings
1987 - Freckles Brown dies of cancer
1987 - Champion of the Pendleton Round Up
1987 - Champion of the Texas Circuit
1987 - WORLD CHAMPION BULL RIDER
1988 - Competed on the U.S. Rodeo Team in the Winter Olympics
- The U.S. Team won the gold
- Lane won the bronze
1988 - Challenge of the Champions - Lane 4 - Red Rock 3
1988 - 6th in the World Standings
1989 - Helps organize “Bullmania, a Tribute to Freckles Brown”
(Now known as “Bullnanza, a Tribute to Freckles Brown and Lane Frost”)
1989 - Lane Frost dies in Cheyenne (July 30)
1990 - Lane Frost was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame
Lane Frost's headstone in Mount Olivet Cemetery
Challenge of the Champions
The Challenge of the Champions was a seven event mach-up between the World Champion Bull Rider, Lane Frost, and the World Champion Bucking Bull, Red Rock. Red Rock was part of the Pro Rodeo from 1984 to 1987. He retired unridden after bucking off 309 riders, Lane included. After every ride Red Rock would do a “victory lap” before exiting the arena. the announcer at the first match said that, “he wasn’t quite sure what Red Rock does, no rider had stayed on him long enough for him to figure it out!” The first two matches were easy victories for Red Rock. After a lot of studying, Lane was ready for the third match, he altered his position and became the first bull rider to stay on Red Rock for the full eight seconds. After Lane won the fourth match Red Rock had figured out that something was not right. Instead of doing a victory lap he simply looked at Lane before exiting the arena. Lane won the fifth match, but Red Rock won the sixth. Going into the final match they were tied 3-3. Lane recalls, " I knew it was the last chance I had to ride him, and he was loose and cool. He didn't have any idea it was the last time. It was just another chance for him to buck me off. One thing was in my favor. My wife, Kellie, came to watch, and it helped me, made me have more confidence." Lane won again dismounting at 9.36 seconds. Lane won the Challenge of the Champions 4-3. Although Red Rock was tame enough for children to sit on his back for pictures, his owner wanted Lane to be the last bull rider to ever sit on Red Rock’s back. Red Rock even attended the memorial service for Lane at the 1989 National Finals Rodeo.
1987 World Champion Bull Rider, Lane Frost,
and 1987 World Champion Bucking Bull, Red Rock
and 1987 World Champion Bucking Bull, Red Rock
Lane's Last Ride
Lane was in a sort of slump when he entered the Cheyenne Frontier Days, but things were starting to look better both in and out of the rodeo. The Cheyenne Frontier Days is commonly known to the cowboys as the Daddy of Em All. This is one of the biggest rodeo events of the year. Lane had a great second ride on Wednesday, July 26, that set him in second place. Sunday, July 30, 1989, changed the life of rodeo forever. It had been rainy and the arena was slick with mud. At 3:30, in chute number seven Lane sat atop a bull named “Takin’ Care of Business.” He gave his famous, “OK boys, OK boys!” and the gate flew open. Lane rode the bull through every jump and turn for the full eight seconds, earning a score of 82 points. When the buzzer sounded Lane rolled off the bull’s hindquarters just the way he liked to. He said that by going off the back the bull would be moving away from you and the rodeo clowns could get his attention as the rider got away. That day though as Lane dismounted, the bull suddenly pivoted. Lane was still on the ground and tried to scoot away but slipped in the mud. Lane then tried to lunge away but the bull hit him in the back knocking him back to the ground. Lane tried to curl up and be as small as possible, but being 5’ 11” there was more for the bull to hook. The bull hit Lane’s left side with his right horn sliding Lane forward in the mud. The bull bucked and jumped over him, as it did his bull rope fell and draped over him. Lane stood and tried moving towards the gate, but only made it a few steps. He motioned for help before falling back into the mud. Tuff Hedeman was one of the first people to reach Lane after the accident. “Lane had the kind of toughness that if he had two broken legs he’d have walked out of the arena,” Tuff said. “His pain tolerance was very high. When we were in that ambulance, I was hoping and praying. A million things were going through my head, but I knew it was bad. They tried to revive him in the ambulance, and kept going in the emergency room. But Lane was gone before he left the arena.” At 3:59 they unplugged him and pronounced him dead, leaving Tuff alone with his best friend. Tuff went to his side and hugged and kissed his best friend goodbye. Tuff then had to call Lane’s parents and his wife Kellie, this was the first Frontier Days she had missed, to tell them the news. The next day Tuff and Cody rode in the airplane with Lane back to Oklahoma. Although no autopsy was done it is believed that the bull broke his rib that then punctured a main artery.
Lane Frost on Takin' Care of Business during his last ride.