Bull Rider Mason Lowe Killed After Being Thrown Off, Stomped On

A professional bull rider who was thrown off and then stomped on by a bull died Tuesday after sustaining fatal injuries. Mason Lowe, a 25-year-old from Exeter, Missouri, was knocked off the bull named Hard Times during the National Western Stock Show being held at Denver Coliseum in Colorado.

Following the incident in the evening, Lowe was immediately rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to a “massive heart injury” at night, according to Sean Gleason, CEO of Professional Bull Riders (PBR), an international professional bull riding organization, local media reported.

After being thrown off by the animal, Lowe was trying to get up again and get a hold of the bull when it stomped on his chest.

“We are heartbroken by the passing of Mason Lowe,” Gleason said during a news conference Wednesday, Denver Post reported.

“The bull absolutely unintentionally injured and killed Mason,” Gleason added. “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.”

Fans paid tribute to Lowe at Denver Coliseum when they showed up for the finals Wednesday. The announcer started the proceedings by saying, “It is with extremely heavy hearts that we share with you we have lost truly one of our own.”

A tribute video by PBR featured Lowe, who described some of the risks of being a bull rider, “The way I was taught, don’t give up if you’re hurting a little bit. Just keep going at it, and hopefully it’ll pain away out.”

Lowe was from rural Missouri and had developed a passion for the sport since he was a kid. He participated at his first PBR event in Arkansas in 2011, and eventually became a full-time rider in 2015. He had qualified for three consecutive PBR World Finals. Lowe was ranked 18th in bull riding in the world by PBR.

Pointing out the passion involved in the profession, Gleason said, “That’s the mentality of a bull rider. It’s what they love to do. They’d be riding in their backyard if they couldn’t be riding professionally.”

National Western officials started collecting donations to meet funeral expenses. The collected money would be given to Lowe’s family.

Calling the incident a rare one, Slade Long, a former bull rider and PBR employee, said, “It’s pretty freaky. There are close calls — everyone in the sport has it in their mind that it’s seriously dangerous. But it’s very rare for someone to die.”

Previously, two deaths have been reported in PBR events since its foundation in 1992, one in 2000 and the other in 2018.