ProRodeo Legend Larry Mahan Passes Away

 Mahan was the all-around world champion in 1966-70 and 1973. He also was the bull riding champ in 1965 and 1967. He qualified for the NFR a combined 26 times from 1964-75 in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He was inducted in the inaugural class of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1979.

The loss of Mahan weighed heavy on fellow ProRodeo Hall of Famer, Ty Murray, a nine-time world champion.

“I think he meant a lot to the sport of rodeo, and he meant a lot to me,” Murray said. “He was my hero. He was my superman when I was a little boy. I did a paper when I was in fifth grade, they said if you could wish anything for the world what would it be. I misunderstood the question. I thought it meant if there is anything you could do in the world, what would it be? I said I wanted to break Larry Mahan’s records. I still have that assignment today with me.”

Murray acknowledged Mahan was far more than his idol.

“He took me under his wing when I was 13,” Murray said. “I went and lived with him that summer and he didn’t really teach me anything about riding. He never really even mentioned anything about riding but taught me a lot about not being shy when people want to interview you and to try and give thoughtful answers and tell them what it is like because most people can’t fathom what it is like to ride a bull or a bucking horse. He taught me the importance of all that stuff, which was really a big help for me in my career because growing up, if it didn’t have to do with being a cowboy, I didn’t care about it.

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