Professional bull rider Dylan Grant, 24, was killed while competing in the Xtreme Bulls event at the Wharton County Youth Fair on Thursday.
According to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Grant was bucked off of a bull and then stepped on. The Wyoming native and high school bull riding champion was immediately attended to by medics who attempted to stabilize him in an ambulance. He was transported to a Houston hospital via helicopter, where he later died.
“Dylan was blessed as an athlete – a state champion from Jackson Hole High School and a proud University of Wyoming alumnus – but more than that, he was known for his kindness, compassion and big heart. His spirit touched everyone who knew him,” the PRCA wrote Friday.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and everyone who had the honor of knowing Dylan.”
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According to his PRCA bio, Grant obtained his PRCA permit in 2018 and bought his PRCA card on Feb. 14, 2024. He was a beloved alumnus of the University of Wyoming rodeo team. As a member of the team, he won the Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo bull riding championship in 2021.
The University of Wyoming issued a statement about his death, and remembered him as a “champion of life inside and outside of the arena.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Dylan’s father, Wade, and Dylan’s mother, Tiffany, during this unthinkable time. Dylan was a proud 2023 graduate, earning his degree in Physical Education Teacher Education. Dylan was a champion of life inside and outside of the arena,” the statement read. “Once a Cowboy, Always a Cowboy.”
Dylan Grant’s father, Wade, spoke to press after his son’s death.
In an interview with ABC News, Wade Grant shared that after the bull threw Dylan to the ground, the animal stepped on his neck. “He ran out of the arena and straight to the ambulance with these injuries,” Wade said. “Dylan was double tough.”
Wade defended the sport and said that what happened to his son was “very, very, very, very rare. It was a freak accident.”
Dylan’s family said that they and Dylan knew the dangers of the sport but that he was living his dream. Watch Dylan’s father talk to ABC News about his son’s life and death in the video below.