Brent Thurman
Brent Thurman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brent Cullen Thurman March 3, 1969 |
| Died | December 17, 1994 (aged 25) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Resting place | Austin Memorial Park Cemetery in Austin, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Hoghead |
| Occupation | Professional bull rider |
Brent Cullen Thurman (March 3, 1969 – December 17, 1994) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), Bull Riders Only (BRO), and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuits; the last organization of which he was one of the founding members.[1][2][3]
Early life[edit]
Brent Thurman was born on March 3, 1969, in Austin, Texas, to Will Thurman and Kay Goodnight. He had an older brother, Brock, who was two years his senior.[2] He grew up in Dripping Springs, Texas.[4]
His maternal great-great-great uncle was famous cattle rancher Charles Goodnight.[2]
When he and his brother were seven and nine years old, their parents divorced. Brent turned to sports, but his teachers soon discovered that he was dyslexic and he worked with tutors for years. His mother Kay also worked with him on a daily basis.[2]
Thurman's bull riding career began at the age of eight. By the time he was in high school, he played football, basketball, and golf, and ran track, but his first love was always bull riding. In his junior year, despite winning a city golf tournament, he focused on bull riding.[2]
Career[edit]
Thurman joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) in 1989.[1]
He was a three-time qualifier to the PRCA's Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo.[1]
He joined Bull Riders Only (BRO) in 1991, during its inaugural year, and competed at the first BRO Finals at the Long Beach Sports Arena in Long Beach, California, in March 1992.
In April 1992, Thurman was one of the 20 co-founders of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR).[2] Later in October of that year, he rode at his second BRO Finals; this time at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Thurman volunteered in special rodeos; competitions for physically and mentally disabled youth, and was a judge at bull-riding events throughout Texas in his spare time.[5]
He competed at his third BRO Finals in 1993; the event having returned to Long Beach, California. That same year, he qualified for and competed at his first National Finals Rodeo (NFR), the PRCA's annual year-end world championship rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1]
In 1994, Thurman competed during the first Bud Light PBR Tour season and qualified for the inaugural PBR Bud Light World Finals in Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena in October.[2] Later that same month, he competed at his fourth straight BRO Finals; the event having returned to Denver.
In December 1994, Thurman qualified for his second straight NFR.[5]
He planned on retiring from bull riding by the age of 30 to then focus his professional career on golf in the PGA Senior Tour.[2]
Death[edit]
On December 11, 1994, during the 10th and final round of that year's NFR, Thurman drew the bull Red Wolf. Halfway into the ride, Thurman was bucked off and became entangled in his bull rope, which pulled him underneath Red Wolf's hooves and was stomped on the back of his head and neck by the bull's back hooves. Then, Thurman, lying on the arena floor on his left side, kept his head up briefly before slowly lowering it to the ground, losing consciousness. He was quickly tended to by the Justin Sports Medicine Team and rushed out of the arena on a stretcher to University Medical Center's trauma center with severe cranial and facial fractures. Thurman was in a coma and on life support; subsequently succumbing to his injuries six days later, having never regained consciousness. He was 25 years old. Red Wolf was not considered vicious for a bull, and the death was ruled a "freak accident."[6]
Thurman's funeral was held on December 22, 1994, at the Travis County Exposition Center in Austin, Texas.[6] He was then buried at the city's Memorial Park Cemetery.[7]
He was survived by his father Will, mother Kay, brother Brock, and girlfriend Tara Farrell.
Thurman's father Will died on February 17, 2006, at the age of 66 after battling cancer.[8] His older brother Brock died on July 28, 2021, at the age of 54.[9]
Honors[edit]
In 1996, the PBR introduced the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award; presented to the bull rider with the highest-marked single ride at the annual PBR World Finals. It was named for Thurman and Lane Frost, who died at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, also killed in a bull-riding accident.
From 1999 through 2017, the Brent Thurman Memorial Bull Riding, a PBR-sanctioned event was held in Thurman's honor to raise money for charity.[2][4][10]
In 2002, Thurman was posthumously inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame.[1]
Since 2007, the Brent Thurman Foundation has raised funds to serve the special needs community in and around Austin, Texas.[2]
In 2008, the City of Las Vegas named a frontage road after Thurman; Brent Thurman Way.[11]
In 2011, Thurman was posthumously inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Thurman, Brent - Inductee of the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame". Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Heroes & Legends: Brent Thurman | PBR | Professional Bull Riders". pbr.com. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ a b "Brent Thurman - PBR Hall of Fame". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ a b "Memorial Bull Riding set for Thurman's hometown". Wrangler Network. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ a b "Brent Thurman Foundation: About Brent". Brent Thurman Foundation. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ a b "Austin Journal; Rodeo star dies, and throng mourns - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Brent Cullen Thurman". Find a Grave. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Will Thurman". Harrell Funeral Homes. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "William Brock Thurman". Harrell Funeral Homes. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Brent Thurman Foundation: Past Champions". Brent Thurman Foundation. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Naming Las Vegas: Brent Thurman Way". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 8, 2024.