LAS VEGAS - Almost nothing went as planned on Sunday, Dec. 11,1994.
Brent Thurman was known among his friends forhaving a calming presence in the most dangerous sport in the world.But that morning, he woke up anxious about his final-round matchupwith Red Wolf at the National Finals Rodeo.
He nervously asked Aaron Semas for his thoughtson the bull, something his girlfriend Tara Farrellrecalled as out of character for the laidback rider.
Other than that, it seemed like any other Sunday - Thurman wasgood-naturedly annoying everyone in the car by singing "WinterWonderland" all the way from the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino tothe Thomas & Mack Center.
He'd sing a few lines, look at his friends and laugh, then tryto sing some more. That was Thurman. He was a cutup, who could makealmost anyone feel comfortable in a tense situation.
As they finally arrived at the arena, Thurman joked, "The minuteI get off that bull, I'm going to have a shot of tequila."
He never had the opportunity.
Farrell remembers that it took longer than usual for him to callfor the gate. Four seconds later, Red Wolf stepped on him. Hesuffered facial and cranial injuries, never regained consciousness,and six days later passed away at a trauma center in Las Vegas.
'We went from walking in a winter wonderland tothe worst nightmare you could imagine.'
"We went from walking in a winter wonderland to the worstnightmare you could imagine," Farrell said. "It's almost to whereyour brain can't comprehend something that quick. It was like, 'OK,this is not real. This is not happening.'"
At 25, Brent Thurman was dead.
Prodigy
Thurman was born on March 3, 1969, in Austin, Texas, the youngerof two boys.
Brock, two years older than Brent, was seriouslike his father Will, while Brent was more likehis mother Kay. Even at a young age, he tookeverything in stride.
When the boys were seven and nine, their parents divorced.
Brent turned to sports, but his teachers soon discovered he hada learning disability. Brent was dyslexic, and worked tirelesslywith tutors for years. Kay, who had already developed a specialbond with her son, worked with him on a daily basis.
By the time he was in high school, Brent played football andbasketball, and ran track. He was also a natural when it came togolf, but his first love was always bull riding.
In his junior year, despite winning a city golf tournament, hefocused on bull riding.
Brent planned to compete professionally until he reached the ageof 30, when he would turn his attention toward the Senior PGAtour.
"I don't know," Kay said. "We'll never know if he would havereally stopped at 30, but that was the plan."
Tough as nails
"I was young when I had the boys," said Kay, who worked hard togive her boys a good home. They were short on money, but alwayslong on love. "I guess I was just a kid raising a kid."
For all but one year, she raised her two boys in the country.The year in Austin "didn't work out so well."
"There's a vast difference in a city child and country kid," shesaid, "and I really didn't realize that until I took them intotown."
'There's a vast difference in a city child andcountry kid.'
Kay was dating Andy Carey, who proved to be ahuge influence for Brent in his development as a bull rider. Careytaught him the fundamentals of the sport, and for years, if Brentneeded help with his riding, he consulted Carey.
He learned how to be tough.
In high school, he and his childhood friend DowFarrell took a job cutting firewood to make extra money.Kay worried that one of the boys would wind up getting hurt.
One Friday morning, Dow walked into the Thurman kitchen andsaid, "Kay, it's bad."
Brent came in with his pants leg soaked in blood.
He had cut through his knee, down to the bone with a chainsaw.Brent promised to see a doctor on Monday, but asked his mother tobandage him up so that he could compete that night.
"It looked like he got slaughtered," said Kay, who insisted hego to the emergency room immediately. "It's a wonder he didn'tbleed to death. He was a tough little guy."
How tough?
Brent broke his left wrist 22 times before he finally had itreconstructed in 1993.
'He truly had a gift with people'
Thurman became part of the public consciousness as one of thetop-ranked professional bull riders in the world. He rode in an eraalongside greats like Michael Gaffney andWacey Cathey, as well as TyMurray and Jim Sharp.
But his gift, as Kay calls it, was his love for people.
"It didn't matter if you had a nickel to your name or you werethe governor," Kay said. "He was going to treat you both just thesame."
Friends and family joke that they never met anyone missing theirfront teeth who loved to smile as much as Brent.
"He was very considerate, for a man," said Tara. "Not to a sappyextent, but he had the most amazing sense of humor."
She later added, "He had a conscience, and you don't really seethat in this day and age. I just loved that about him. Hedefinitely wanted to live right - and that's not to say he didn'tgo out and tear it up quite a bit, but he wanted to be a good guy.He didn't want to be a guy people never thought much of.
"But you know what I really loved about Brent? You could takehim anywhere, and he would be completely comfortable."
A year before his death, he met a couple in the lobby ofthe Gold Coast.
'It didn't matter if you had a nickel to your nameor you were the governor. He was going to treat you both just thesame.'
It was the first time he had qualified for the NFR. The couplehad never been to a rodeo, and had no idea who he was, but Thurmandecided to invite them along.
He got them a pair of tickets and even offered them a ride tothe arena.
"He wanted everyone to see what he always loved," Tara said. "Hewas that type of guy. That's just who he was."
It's a personality trait that comes from Kay's side of thefamily.
Kay's father Merle Goodnight was a gregariousTexan. Merle's great uncle was **Charles Goodnight,**perhaps the most famous Texas cattle rancher of all time, known asthe "father of the Texas Panhandle."
Kay described her son by saying, "He loved life, he loved hisfriends, he loved his God, he loved his family, and somehow oranother he worked us all in to where you would have felt like aspecial friend. I felt like a special mother, and everybody that hedrug home - and there were probably thousands of them over theyears - I don't know- he had a gift.
"He truly had a gift with people."
To an athlete dying young
"That child was my life," said Kay, holding back tears 17 yearsafter Brent's death. "Nothing matters without him in it."
The death of a child is unimaginable, except for the unfortunatefew who survive it. The bull riding community did what itcould.
Cathey was by Kay's side for months as she dealt with the loss,as were Brent's close friends Billy Cochrane andBo Davis. The strongest bond, however, was betweenKay and Tara.
They lived together until about year before Tara married DowFarrell.
The two looked after each other, leaning on one another forsupport as they learned to live with the loss.
"It's hard to cope with, right?" asked Tara. "I learned torealize that it wasn't just about me. It was an amazing lesson.
"You have to put yourself outside of what you want, and that's ahell of a thing to do."
Tara recalled the Sunday afternoon in Vegas when the accidentoccurred. "I remember thinking, 'Get up. Get up. This is Brent,he's going to get up,' and then thinking, 'This is not good,'" shesaid. "If you truly love someone - truly love them - it takes a lotto step outside of the box and say, 'What does this personwant?'"
That night, the doctors prepared everyone for theinevitable.
Gaffney, who was out with an injury and not competing at thetime, flew in from New Mexico to say goodbye to his friend. One byone, the others did the same. In her last words to Brent, Tara toldhim it was all right to go and be with God.
'It was his love, his passion, and it made ithis 25 years incredibly happy.'
For two years, Kay was "mad at God," until one day she finallyrealized she was only hurting herself.
"It took a lot," added Tara, "but I think you also go intosurvival mode."
With the anger came sadness, loneliness and second-guessing.
Kay said a part of her wishes she had never put him on his firststeer.
Still, "For him, I'm terribly thankful I did, because it was hislove, his passion, and it made it his 25 years incredibly happy,"she said.
Tara added, "He knew the dangers, but Brent was not going tochange what he did. He loved riding bulls - loved it, loved it,loved it - and I've never loved anything like that other than myfamily - but, yeah, he loved it and he knew the risk."
Dreams
He gave his life to bull riding.
In April of 1992, he was one of 20 riders who gathered in aScottsdale, Ariz., motel room and gave his unconditional support tofounding the PBR. He managed to put together $1,000 for his shareof the initial investment.
"I remember him talking on the phone and saying, 'Whatever itis, I'm in. I want this. Let's do this,'" Tara said.
"He said, 'Mom, it'll give us all a chance,'" said Kay. "It gaveBrent something to believe in. It was something he was very, veryproud of."
In October of 1994, just two months before his death, hequalified for the first-ever PBR World Finals. As Kay put it, "Hegot a taste of it."
In the years since, the Thurman family has remained closelyassociated with the PBR. Kay's last promise to her son was to holda Touring Pro event in his honor as a charity fundraiser. Shepromised him one, and 13 years later, with the help of Davis andCochran, the Brent Thurman Foundation continues to raise money formentally and physically challenged children and adults.
'I'm so thankful for the PBR giving Brent adream.'
Serving the community meant a lot to Brent.
Before making his final trip to Las Vegas, he purchased abicycle for a boy in his mother's neighborhood who was part of aspecial-needs program at Covington Middle School. Brent may nothave delivered it himself, but Kay saw to it that on Christmas Eve,the boy received the gift from her son.
For all he gave, Brent Thurman was inducted into theprestigious PBR Ring of Honor. At a ceremony on Oct. 25 at the MGMHotel & Casino, he and Tater Porter becamejust the 33rd and 34th men to earn the coveted ring.
"It's huge," said Tara.
Kay said, "I'm so thankful for the PBR giving Brent a dream. Themain thing about Brent is his generosity and his love of people. …He was going to make you like him one way or another.
"He had a gift. He truly did."