Five World Champs Set to Compete in George Paul Memorial Bull Riding May 3-4

April 27, 2008
By John Ludlum
Publisher

The 31st George Paul Memorial Bull Riding dates are set for May 3-4, 2008, and the granddaddy of all stand-alone bull ridings will reunite three-time George Paul Memorial Bull Riding champion and four-time world champion Tuff Hedeman with Del Rio fans. Hedeman, a Del Rio crowd favorite and popular rodeo cowboy, was portrayed in the movie “8 Seconds,” which was about the life of Hedeman’s closest friend and traveling partner, Lane Frost. Interestingly enough, both Hedeman and Frost were Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world champion bull riders, and they shared the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding title in 1986.

Hedeman’s popularity comes from many factors, all earned, none given. When he was about 5 years old, his hand was caught between the door and doorpost of a pickup owned by rodeo cowboy and horse trainer Tater Decker. When Decker realized that Richard Neale (Tuff’s birth name) had not shed a tear, he nicknamed him “tough nut.” The nickname was later shortened to Tuff and, that name has remained.

As a youngster, Tuff wanted to become a racehorse jockey. To that end, he worked his way up the ladder in the racing sport as a groom. Then he rode colts and graduated to exercising racehorses. Physical growth has been the demise of many would-be racehorse jockeys, and such was the case with Tuff. He shot up from weighing 110 pounds at 5’4” tall to 170 pounds and 5’11.” His dream derailed, Tuff did not despair.

Switching from horse racing to rodeo was an easy decision for Tuff. He had started riding calves at age four. At 13 he was riding “junior” bulls--some weighing 1200 pounds--and graduated to grown bulls a short two years later. Being the youngest of seven children, Tuff learned competition was a daily routine and just another fact of life to deal with. It is also how he learned the meaning of the word “try.” “Try” is not just something Hedeman would do from time to time; it is what he does every day in everything he does. In 1980 he won the New Mexico High School Rodeo Association bull riding and all-around titles. He repeated the NMHSRA all-around title and added the team roping title as well in 1981.

With the ability to work riding as well as timed events, rodeo coach John Mahoney of Sul Ross offered Hedeman a rodeo scholarship. The offer paid off when Hedeman was made a member of the team and participated in the 1982 National Collegiate Finals in Bozeman, MT. Contesting in four events—bull riding, saddle bronc riding, team roping, and steer wrestling—the Sul Ross team won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association men’s world championship. Mahoney has often said, “I never knew anyone who had as much determination as Hedeman.” In 1983 after a second win at the NIRA finals, Hedeman turned professional.

In 1983 the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association issued a permit to an applicant who could demonstrate a $1,000 win. Hedeman, in his first PRCA rodeo, earned enough in the saddle bronc riding to fill the permit requirements and became a full-fledged member of the PRCA. In 1984, he earned a spot at the National Finals Rodeo by being among the top 15 at season’s end in the bull riding. He secured his NFR bull riding position every year from 1984-1993. At the 1993 National Finals Rodeo, a neck injury caused temporary paralysis of his legs. The recovery process from that rodeo accident took most of 1994. In 1995 and again in 1996, he returned to the National Finals Rodeo.

The first PRCA world championship he won was in 1986 and his second was in 1989, just five months after his closest friend, Lane Frost was killed by Bad Company’s Rodeo bull named “Takin’ Care of Business,” at Cheyenne, Wyoming. Donning the PRCA bull riding world title again in 1991, Tuff continued to be a force to be reckoned with.

A fledging organization called BRO (Bull Riders Only) had been formed around 1990 to promote bull riding as a stand-alone sport. At the time it was formed, the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding was already in its 13th year and was recognized as the premier stand-alone bull riding competition in the country. Displeased with BRO owner’s attempt to control rider sponsorship and endorsements, Hedeman and 20 other bull riders formed Professional Bull Riders, Inc. The George Paul Memorial Bull Riding was one of the original PBR events and was televised as part of the PBR for 3 years on cable television channel The Nashville Network (TNN).

Hedeman left PBR in 2004 and joined forces with Terry Williams, a five-time stock contractor of the year and four-time bucking bull of the year owner, who had founded CBR with businessman Joel Logan in 2002. Williams is known for his excellence in breeding and raising some of the finest bucking bulls in the sport of bull riding. Tuff joined the organization to give professional bull riders another venue and added opportunities to win substantial money. Williams and Hedeman both stress that they want professional bull riding with a family atmosphere. “We want your wife, children, and grandmother to feel comfortable being around Championship Bull Riding,” Hedeman says.

Serving as President of the CBR, Hedeman remained committed to the sport with which his name has become synonymous. When asked what a return to the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding meant to him he responded, “It’s the history of the event itself. It’s where stand-alone bull riding really began as an institution. It is the original, and when you say the name George Paul, everyone knows just what an incredible man and bull rider he was and the legacy he left.

“Returning as the producer of the event, I couldn’t be more excited. In 1986, the greatest event a bull rider could win was the National Finals Rodeo and a world championship. The big three buckles were the NFR, World Championship, and the George Paul. The first big-time buckle I ever won was in 1986 when I won the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding, Superbull. I also won Salinas, CA, and a world championship that year. That was an incredible year for me.

“What made the George Paul extra special was that Lane [Frost] and I were co-champions at the George Paul. One of my favorite pictures is [of] Lane and me receiving the George Paul buckle.”

When asked which George Paul win of the three (1986, 1992, 1995) meant the most, his reply was without hesitation. “The first year I won it,” he says. “Lane and me getting the buckle in that photograph can never be replaced as one of the greatest highlights and memories of my career.

“I can’t wait to get to Del Rio and see old friends and make new ones. The George Paul Memorial Bull Riding brings back so many memories of all the guys I traveled with and just what that one bull riding [competition] has meant to our sport. You can talk about all the bull riding organizations in the world and the sport of professional bull riding, but the model for the success that all bull riders enjoy is due to George Paul’s memory and what his family has done to honor him.

“That bull riding [organization] proved that stand-alone bull riding was something that the public would come to and wanted to be a part of. I am so proud that Championship Bull Riding [CBR] and the George Paul have joined together in what I look forward to being a long-lasting partnership between CBR and Bobby Paul.

“With the bull riding [event] being televised to over 32 million viewers, I hope Del Rio has to build a bigger arena next year. I guess fans better get their tickets early. With five world champions scheduled to ride both days this year, and a special added attraction of a $10,000 bounty bull Saturday night, I know fans will be in for professional bull riding at its best.”

Fans have many memories of Tuff Hedeman the cowboy and bull rider: four world titles; three George Paul Memorial Bull Riding championships; three successful rides on the bull “Bodacious” before that fateful wreck in 1995, when Hedeman’s face was caved in by the bull and he walked from the arena, streaming blood, to undergo 13 hours of surgery. Only six weeks later and 25 pounds lighter he returned to competition at the NFR. “There is never an excuse to buck off a bull. If he does, the guy just didn’t try hard enough and that includes me,” says Hedeman.

George Paul rode 79 bulls in a row but the only rider to come close to that feat is Tuff Hedeman, with 49.

Hedeman’s loyalty to fans is amazing. Hedeman realized early on from friend Lane Frost that fans make all the riders do possible.

Johnny Cash was once asked, after a fan interrupted his dinner for an autograph, if that ever bothered him. “Who do you think paid for this dinner?” he replied. “The fans who bought my records and paid their hard-earned money to hear and see me sing. No, I’ll never get tired of signing autographs. They’re responsible for me being able to do what I do.” Hedeman has definitely adopted that philosophy.

Tuff Hedeman will be at Ram Country Dodge (3611 Highway 90 West, Del Rio) on Saturday, May 3, to sign autographs, be photographed, and greet fans. Go online to www.swtexaslive.com for the autograph signing time and a contestant entry list in the weeks ahead. In addition, Tuff and the riders of the CBR will be available to sign autographs at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds arena after the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon performances.

General admission tickets are on sale at Corral West, Sam’s Boot Corral, and Border Federal Credit Union located at 2211Bedell and Wal-Mart. Reserve tickets are on sale at the George Paul Museum and Gift Shop, 810 South Main, Del Rio, Texas. For ticket information phone 830-775-9595. The bull riding office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday.

The 31st George Paul Memorial Bull Riding, the Original Superbull, is presented by Ram Country Dodge and co-sponsored by Fred Loya Insurance, the City of Del Rio, and Budweiser. Performance times are Saturday, May 3, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 4, at 3 p.m.