Wyoming Pro Rodeo Cowboy Dies In Bull Riding Event In Texas

A Wyoming man and University of Wyoming alumnus died Thursday night during a professional bullriding event in Texas, after a bull stepped on him, witnesses say.

About 2,500 people witnessed the fatal incident at the Wharton County Youth Fair’s PRCA Xtreme Bulls event, according to event announcer Robert Blue Jeanes.

Dylan Grant of Pavillion, Wyoming, was the last rider of the night in the professional bull riding event. The bull bucked Grant off, Jeanes said it looked to him as though Grant’s hand got stuck in the rope.

The cowboy whipped underneath the bull, and the bull stepped on his neck, he said.

It’s often problematic for paramedics to rush the arena with the bull still raging, but Grant stood and ran to the corner to meet the paramedics himself, and they immediately put him in an ambulance and took him to a hospital, where he died, Jeanes said.

“They were Johnny on the spot,” said Jeanes.

Grant’s run and paramedics’ swift response had Jeanes hopeful that the young man would survive, he said.

“We’re just upset,” said Jeanes in a Friday phone interview. “Sad and heartbroke for the kid and the family. For everybody that was there, it was just terrible.”

‘Can’t Believe He’s Gone’

Grant’s lifelong family friend Cyd Davidson, who has been a close friend to his grandmother and to his late grandfather, said she heard the news of his death Friday morning.

“Oh, I’m just sick,” said Davidson. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Grant grew up in the Jackson area and was a state champion bull rider for Jackson Hole High School in 2018.

He moved to Pavillion with his parents during high school, Davidson said.

“He was an absolute, awesome guy,” Davidson said.  “He was so kind and so compassionate, and he was just a family-oriented kid.”

Prayers

Wharton County Youth Fair President Tammy Wied confirmed Friday to Cowboy State Daily that the bull had stepped on Grant, and that he later died at the hospital.

The University of Wyoming voiced sadness over his death in a Friday interview.

“We are deeply saddened to hear this news about one of our former student-athletes,” UW spokesman Chad Baldwin said on behalf of the university. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

Condolences on social media posts about Grant multiplied Friday morning.

“Dylan was one of my first friends at UW and was always so kind with the goofiest loving personality,” wrote UW alumnus Kelly Lynch. “Even after graduating I’d still see him at rodeos and he was so friendly and would always say hi.

“My heart is absolutely broken. Sending all my thoughts and prayers to his family in this devastating time.”

The PRCA did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.