WHARTON COUNTY, Texas — Like a lot of cowboys, bull rider Dylan Grant chased eight seconds of glory at rodeos all over Texas and the U.S. 

Last night’s ride in Wharton started like any other. Grant’s adrenaline was pumping and the crowd was cheering. Then, tragedy struck.

Grant, 24, was trampled by a bull named Commander after getting bucked off in the second round of the Wharton County Youth Fair Extreme Bulls event.

“Medics rushed him into an ambulance where they began working to stabilize him. He was then taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, where he passed away,” The Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) posted on its website.

According to Grant’s bio, he traveled from rodeo to rodeo across Texas and other states competing in the sport he loved and picking up a few hundred dollars here and there.

Grant was from Riverton, Wyoming, and he competed on the University of Wyoming Rodeo Team before graduating in 2023. According to the PRCA, he won the bull riding title at the Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo in 2022. Grant also won Round 3 at the Mountain States Circuit Finals in Loveland, Colo., that year with an 86.5-point ride on a well-known Cervi Brothers’ bull named Bad Memory.

This season, Grant had earned over $3,700 and $15,710 in his career.

“The PRCA would like to send its thoughts and prayers to bull rider Dylan Grant’s family, friends and the entire rodeo/bull riding community.”

Recent photos show Grant wearing the same protective vest and helmet that all professional bull riders wear now. Sadly, they aren’t always enough to protect bull and bronc riders from serious injuries. 

In 2024, a bull rider from Texas named Peter De Luna was also trampled to death while competing at a rodeo in Bandera. His mother said her 22-year-old son had only been riding bulls for about a year. 

“I’d kiss him before he’d ride, I would just bless him before he’d ride every time, tell him good luck, tell him stay safe,” Vanessa De Luna said.