Top 10 Bull Riders of All Time (2024)

Home>Animal Sports>Bull Riding

PreviousNext

Bull riding is a dangerous and thrilling discipline of rough stock, which are professional rodeo events. Bull riders must stay on a bucking bull for at least eight seconds to earn a qualified ride. The rest of the performance is judged on the bull’s buck as well as the cowboy’s form. Read more to learn about some of the best bull riders in the sport’s history.

• Who Are the Best Bull Riders of All Time?
• 1. Tuff Hedeman
• 2. Lane Frost
• 3. Ty Murray
• 4. Larry Mahan
• 5. Jim Shoulders
• 6. J.B. Mauney
• 7. Don Gay
• 8. Chris Shivers
• 9. Adriano Morães
• 10. Terry Don West
• Honorable Mentions
• FAQ

Who Are the Best Bull Riders of All Time?

1. Tuff Hedeman
2. Lane Frost
3. Ty Murray
4. Larry Mahan
5. Jim Shoulders
6. J.B. Mauney
7. Don Gay
8. Chris Shivers
9. Adriano Morães
10. Terry Don West

1. Tuff Hedeman

• Three-time PRCA Bull Riding World Champion
• 1995 PBR World Champion
• Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductee

Tuff Hedeman is the best bull rider of all time. He has toured the country for over 30 years producing shows and has won three PRCA World Championships. In fact, he has held bull riding competitions in the El Paso County Coliseum for many years. His career led to him co-founding and eventually becoming President of the Professional Bull Riders and Championship Bull Riding.

Hedeman started bull riding early in his youth and won several bull riding competitions in New Mexico. Hedeman is known for his dangerous rides on the bull Bodacious, as well as his friendship with another fellow bull rider, Lane Frost, whom Hedeman named his eldest son after.

2. Lane Frost

• 1987 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bull Riding World Champion
• 1981 National High School Bull Riding Champion
• Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee
• Conquered a famous bull, “Red Rock,” four times

Lane Frost was known as a man who embodied the career of bull riding, but who unfortunately died at 25 years old during a tragic bull riding accident at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Frost’s family and friends remember him for his kindness and selflessness. Frost won his first award for bull riding when he was 10 years old and had an incredible career after that.

Frost won the PRCA World Championship in 1987 and, after his death, was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame. He was also one of the only bull riders able to successfully ride “Red Rock,” a bull named Bucking Bull of the Year in 1987. The movie 8 Seconds tells his story, and the Lane Frost Award, which is awarded to the person in the bull riding industry who best emulates Frost’s passion for promoting rodeo, was created in his honor.

3. Ty Murray

• Seven-timePRCAAll-Around Champion
• Two-time PRCA Bull Riding World Champion
• Competed in all three bull riding disciplines
• 1988 PRCA Overall and Bareback Rookie of the Year

Ty Murray, also known as “King of the Cowboys,” is a skilled bull rider most known for his seven All-Around World Championship titles. He has won the most money in bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding events. Murray is also the cowboy with the most All-Around Championship titles. He won his first World Championship at just 20 years old, making him the youngest bull rider to ever do so.

He is well-recognized for his ability to compete in three of the riskiest rodeo events: bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding. He started bull riding at just eight years old, having been taught by his father, who was a ranch hand. Murray co-founded the Professional Bull Riders organization with Tuff Hedeman and other bull riders.

4. Larry Mahan

• Six-timePRCAWorld All-Around Champion
• Two-time PRCABull Riding World Champion
• Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee

When Larry Mahan was at the peak of his career, he was the best bull rider in history thus far. Mahan began competing in rodeos at 14 years old and soon after began riding for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Mahan’s eight world championship wins made it clear he was a talented rider in rough stock sports.

Mahan’s last PRCA World Championship win in 1973 is the subject of the documentary The Great American Cowboy.He was the first bull rider to compete in three events (saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, and bull riding) and also the first bull rider to win more than $50,000 in a single season.

5. Jim Shoulders

• Five-time PRCA World All-Around Champion
• Seven-time PRCA Bull Riding World Champion
• Four-time PRCA Bareback Riding World Champion
• First competitor to win bareback bronc, bull riding, and all-around
• Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee

Jim Shoulders, also known as “the Babe Ruth of Rodeo,” is most known for his 16 total World Championship titlesin all-around riding, bull riding, and bareback riding categories.At 21 years old, he won his first World Championship title, then continued to win World Championships in three different rodeo categories over an impressive span of 10 years. He is also known for his impressive ability to withstand pain.

Shoulders would frequently compete while he was injured and continued to earn winnings despite his injuries. He had a surprising introduction to bull riding. He grew up in the city without any experience with livestock but was inspired to enter his first rodeo at 14 years old after he watched one.Outside of bull riding, he is also known for his commercial work with Cowboy Cut Jeans and Miller Lite.

6. J.B. Mauney

• Two-timeProfessional Bull Rider World Champion
• 2006 Professional Bull Rider Rookie of the Year
• 2006 Professional Bull Rider Touring Pro Division Champion
• Second-most rides in PBR history

J.B. Mauney is the most recent truly great bull rider to hit the professional circuit.He frequently picks the most aggressive bull in the pens and is currently one of the most talented bull riders on the scene. In 2016, Mauney became the first bull rider to reach $7 million in earnings.

Not only has he won two PBR World Championships, but he is also one out of three riders to stay on the bull “Bushwacker” for a complete eight seconds. In 2019, Mauney tied Justin McBride for the most elite televised wins in Professional Bull Riding’s history.

7. Don Gay

• Eight-time PRCA Bull Riding World Championship winner
• 13-time qualifier for National Finals Rodeo
• 1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee

Don Gay is an American bull rider who holds the record for the most PRCA Bull Riding World Championships.He began bull riding at a young age and declared that he wanted to be a world champion at age five. His father, Neal Gay, was also a Hall of Fame bull rider, and the two are the only father-son duo in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Gay began his professional bull riding career after high school and joined a traveling rodeo circuit.

During his career, Gay dominated the sport, winning eight PRCA Bull Riding World Championships and qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo 13 times. After his retirement in 1989, he was a commentator for many years before becoming the manager of the Frontier Rodeo Company. Gay now runs his own rodeo tour, called the Don Gay Bull Riding Tour, and remains active in the sport. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979 and the PBR Ring of Honor in 1997.

8. Chris Shivers

• Two-time Professional Bull Riders World Champion
• 22 Bud Light Cup Series and Built Ford Tough Series wins
• 94 90-point bull rides (most in history)
• 2017 Bull Riding Hall of Fame Inductee

Chris Shivers is a great former professional bull rider from Natchez, Mississippi. Shivers set a few records during his career, including becoming the first bull rider to win over $300,000 in a single year. He also was the first bull rider to earn $1 million, $2 million, and $3 million in a career.

Shivers won two PBR World Championships, gaining those accolades in 2000 and 2003. He also holds the record for most 90-point bull rides, with a total of 94. After retiring in 2012, Shivers was nominated to the PBR Ring of Honor in 2013 and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in 2017.

9. Adriano Morães

• Three-time PBR World Champion (1994, 2001, 2006)
• Two-time NFR Bull Riding Average Champion (1994, 1996)
• Career winnings over $3.4 million
• 2009 PBR Ring of Honor inductee
• 2020 Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductee

Adriano Morães is a Brazilian bull rider who was the first man to become a two-time PBR World Champion. He moved to the US in 1994 after success in Brazil and won his first PBR Championship that year. Morães followed up his win with another in 2001 after recovering from a broken leg in 1997.

In the meantime, Morães also won the NFR average twice, in 1994 and 1996. He eventually three-peated at the PBR Championships in 2006. Morães is one of the winningest bull riders in the history of the sport, with over $3.4 million in career prize earnings. After retiring in 2008, he was inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame. Morães went on to become the Director of Brazil operations for the Austin Gamblers in the PBR’s Team Series.

10. Terry Don West

• Two-time IPRA Champion Bull Rider (1985, 1991)
• 1995 PRCA Reserve Champion Bull Rider
• 1996 BRO Champion Bull Rider
• Two-time PRCA Champion Bull Rider (1996, 2003)
• 2016 Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductee

Terry Don West is known for his 21-year career in bull riding. One of the best bull riders ever, West’s exceptionally long career saw him achieve championships in three different associations (IPRA, PRCA, and BRO), as well as setting a record for the second-most consecutive rides in PBR history, with 15.

West is also notable for riding the legendary bull, “Bodacious,” twice. He started riding at age four and began competing at seven. The son of IPRA champion calf-roper Don West, Terry Don was born to ride and went on to tour the world, promoting the sport of rodeo in Brazil, Canada, and Australia. In 2003, West set a record at the time for the largest winnings in a season when he brought in over $211,000. He was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in 2016 and now hosts his own series of roping events.

Honorable Mentions

• Warren G. Brown
• Cody Custer
• Jerome Davis
• Denny Flynn
• Gary Leffew
• Jose Vitor Leme
• Guilherme Marchi
• Justin McBride
• Ted Nuce
• Jim “Razor” Sharp
• Jim Shoulders

FAQ

PreviousNext

Pages Related to Top 10 Bull Riders of All Time

• How Much Does A Bull Rider Make?
• What are the rules of bull riding?
• What Are The Best Seats At A Bull Riding Show?
• List of Bull Riding Skills
• List of Bull Riding Facts
• What Are The Basic Rules Of Bull Riding?

PreviousNext