Bull That Stomped and Killed 25-Year-Old Rider Mason Lowe Will Remain on Circuit, Official Says
After a bull stomped and eventually killed a 25-year-old professional bull rider, Mason Lowe, on Tuesday during competition in the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, officials from the Professional Bull Riders association have said the animal will still be used in competitions.
The bull, named Hard Times — who weighs between 1,500 and 2,000 lbs. — unintentionally bucked off the rider before stomping on him, the CEO of the PBR, Sean Gleason, told the Denver Post. Before Tuesday, Lowe had never ridden Hard Times, Gleason said.
“The bull absolutely unintentionally injured and killed Mason,” Gleason told the Post. “In this particular case, he had no idea that Mason had been sucked underneath him. The bull did not do this with any mal-intent.”
According to Fox News, officials said that the stomp of the bull’s back left leg resulted in a “massive chest injury that caused damage to his heart” even though Lowe was wearing a protective vest at the time.
“He was fully protected with chest protectors and face protectors, but just one poor placement of a bull coming down on you in a certain area can do great damage and obviously that’s what happened in this instance,” Paul Andrews, president and CEO of the National Western Stock Show, told local outlet KDVR.
An attendee at the competition, Gerardo Alvarez, told CBS Denver that the athlete “was thrown off the bull, and while he was on the ground, [the bull’s] back legs stomped him in the chest while he was trying to get up.”
Alvarez continued to the outlet: “When he got up, he immediately grabbed his chest and stumbled over to the exit and then fell to the ground again grabbing his chest before he could get out of the area. They took him out on a stretcher.”
According to the Associated Press, Lowe was from Exeter, Missouri. The PBR ranking lists him as the 18th best bull rider in the world. He’d been competing professionally for seven years.
“We are deeply saddened to report that Mason Lowe passed away this evening following injuries sustained at the PBR event in Denver,” Gleason said in a statement earlier this week. “The entire PBR and National Western sports family extends our heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to Mason’s wife Abbey and his family.”
Lowe told local outlet KOLR-TV back in 2015 that he started riding bulls when he was 3 years old.
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“We have a little farm in Exeter, Missouri, and we had some milk calves, and my dad put me on them and ever since then, I been going to little rodeos and amateur bull ridings,” he told the outlet.
He also said at the time that he’d only sustained mild injuries.
“I got cuts on my eyes and stuff but you can’t really worry about that stuff,” he said to KOLR-TV, adding, “If you don’t get nervous, you’re crazy.”
