WHARTON COUNTY, Texas — Bull rider Dylan Grant chased 8 seconds of glory every chance he got at rodeos across Texas and the U.S.
Last night’s ride in Wharton, Texas, north of Houston, started like all the others with Grant’s adrenaline pumping and the crowd cheering. Then, something went terribly wrong.
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 Thursday night.
“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 competing in the sport he loved while picking up a few hundred dollars here and there.
He was from Riverton, Wyoming, and competed on the University of Wyoming Rodeo Team before graduating in 2023. According to the PRCA, Grant won the bull riding title at the Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo. He 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.
Our rodeo family lost a talented young cowboy last night. Wyoming bull rider Dylan Grant was stepped on at the Wharton…
Posted by Kendra Santos on Friday, April 4, 2025
