2muchcoffeeman
Well-Known Member
From longtime rodeo journalist Kendra Santos' facebook post this afternoon:
Much like Dale Earnhardt, Larry Mahan was the man every other man wanted to be — and every woman wanted to be with.
More coverage: PRCA Sports News
Larry Mahan did a whole lot of living before heading to Heaven early this morning. His cowboy friends called him Bull, and he did a whole lot of winning in his legendary lifetime, too—both in and out of the arena.
Mahan first struck gold as the 1965 world champion bull rider, and won a second gold bull riding buckle in 1967. The three-event roughstock-riding sensation won five straight world all-around titles from 1966-70, and a sixth world all-around crown in 1973.
Mahan was a cowboy pilot, who flew himself and cowboy friends coast to coast—and beyond.
Mahan was a businessman and an entrepreneur with a flair for fashion, with Larry Mahan Collections and popular lines of boots, hats and clothing he designed himself.
Mahan was a pioneer at supplementing in-arena income with sponsorship money, long before patched-up competition shirts were the norm, like they are now.
As an analyst on rodeo telecasts, there was no more colorful commentator or greater ambassador than Mahan.
Mahan was The Man. He owned his era, and went out of his road to answer the call of both Western and mainstream media, which helped elevate the cowboy sport to where it is today.
Inducted with the inaugural Class of 1979 at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Mahan returned to center stage as the 2010 Legend of Pro Rodeo at the Hall's Gala held each year in Vegas leading up to our cowboy sport's Super Bowl.
As a human, Mahan was generous of spirit. He always took the time to talk to me—and countless others—and never cut our time short. He opened every conversation with me by asking about my cowboy-horse-doctor dad, complimenting him as someone he always admired and respected at the other end of the arena and asking that I, "Give Dad my best."
I have memories of Mahan from back when I was a little girl. But our professional lives passed—a lot and often—over Ty Murray. I got to witness Mahan being the first to shake Murray's hand when Ty accomplished his lifelong dream of breaking Mahan's record with his seventh world all-around championship in 1998.
Fitting that Ty was one of the last people to spend time with Mahan these last few days, when his earthly end was very near. The trailblazing pioneer and the kid who proudly took his torch and carried it to even greater heights had two precious, priceless hours together in Mahan's Texas home. Just the two of them. One last time.
I don't see Ty around all the time now, like I did in the day when he was busy ruling the rodeo world. Sure special and appreciated that he knew how much it would mean to me to hear from him at the close of that final goodbye to his hero, mentor and friend. The last call like this one was the day Jim Shoulders died. Ty was the first to tell me that, too.
Mahan lived on the wild side, and was always a little bit unusual—a non-conformist in the most complimentary sense of the word.
"If you think back to his era, everybody dressed alike," Ty said. "Larry came along, and he loved to ride. But he didn't look, act, ride, walk or talk like anybody else. He had an open mind that nobody else had. He looked at things differently.
"Mahan's love and passion for the challenge of riding bucking stock has to be the greatest factor in why he was so successful in the arena. And he was far and away the most successful outside the arena, too." …
A lot of you know Ty's become a handy horseman. He broke two of Mahan's colts that summer at 13, and—vintage Mahan—the methods were anything but conventional.
"I'd be on a colt the first time, he'd come running up horseback, rope the colt I was on, open the gate, then off we'd go into the big wide open on the ranch," Ty remembers. "But later that summer, we rode those colts in the grand entry at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs."
Larry introduced young Ty to a whole wide world of opportunity, inside the arena and beyond.
"It was important that Mahan came into my life," Ty said. "He talked to me about the importance of doing interviews, and said things like, 'People can't fathom what it's like to ride a bull. Tell them what it looks like, feels like and smells like.'
"I made more money outside of the arena than in the arena. That was because of Larry. He's the one who told me not to shy away from the media. He's why I agreed to be on 'Dancing with the Stars.'
"Larry Mahan was the first rockstar of rodeo. He came along and became the first superstar of our sport who went outside of our little niche and out into the world."
Part of their bond had to be their being able to relate to each other while breathing the most rarified rodeo air there is. They competed in the same three dangerous, demanding events at the same end of the arena, and they dominated. And that came with a bull's-eye on their backs that was relatable to them both.
I'll never forget how it used to hurt my heart when Ty got to the top, was smashing records right and left, and people would take pot shots at him. He would calmly tell me, "Toots, jealousy is a very ugly emotion." Let me guess, he got such wisdoms from his talks and time with Mahan. Others had no way of knowing what it was like to live their lives. They say it's lonely at the top for a reason. But these two did not need approval beyond the sweat-equity-earned self-satisfaction in their souls.
"Mahan left a big mark on me, for sure," Ty said. "I have a million great memories, and he and I will be forever linked."
The kid in this story is 53 now, and seeing his hero in his final hours was a reminder that, "We're all on the same ride, and we better not be wasting any of it."
Even in death, Larry had one last life lesson for the kid he thought of as a second son. Fate is fierce and strong, and Larry's son, Ty Mahan, preceded him in death when he passed away at 53 three years ago. I'm told son Ty's wife, Christina, has been a real blessing in his life since Larry's beloved wife, JuleAnn, headed to Heaven just ahead of him. Mahan is survived by his daughters, Eliza and Lisa.
Born November 21, 1943 in Salem, Oregon, Larry passed peacefully at home in Valley View, Texas, today, May 7, 2023, with his beautiful daughters by his side. He was 79.
Ride high, Mahan. You earned it.
Mahan first struck gold as the 1965 world champion bull rider, and won a second gold bull riding buckle in 1967. The three-event roughstock-riding sensation won five straight world all-around titles from 1966-70, and a sixth world all-around crown in 1973.
Mahan was a cowboy pilot, who flew himself and cowboy friends coast to coast—and beyond.
Mahan was a businessman and an entrepreneur with a flair for fashion, with Larry Mahan Collections and popular lines of boots, hats and clothing he designed himself.
Mahan was a pioneer at supplementing in-arena income with sponsorship money, long before patched-up competition shirts were the norm, like they are now.
As an analyst on rodeo telecasts, there was no more colorful commentator or greater ambassador than Mahan.
Mahan was The Man. He owned his era, and went out of his road to answer the call of both Western and mainstream media, which helped elevate the cowboy sport to where it is today.
Inducted with the inaugural Class of 1979 at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, Mahan returned to center stage as the 2010 Legend of Pro Rodeo at the Hall's Gala held each year in Vegas leading up to our cowboy sport's Super Bowl.
As a human, Mahan was generous of spirit. He always took the time to talk to me—and countless others—and never cut our time short. He opened every conversation with me by asking about my cowboy-horse-doctor dad, complimenting him as someone he always admired and respected at the other end of the arena and asking that I, "Give Dad my best."
I have memories of Mahan from back when I was a little girl. But our professional lives passed—a lot and often—over Ty Murray. I got to witness Mahan being the first to shake Murray's hand when Ty accomplished his lifelong dream of breaking Mahan's record with his seventh world all-around championship in 1998.
Fitting that Ty was one of the last people to spend time with Mahan these last few days, when his earthly end was very near. The trailblazing pioneer and the kid who proudly took his torch and carried it to even greater heights had two precious, priceless hours together in Mahan's Texas home. Just the two of them. One last time.
I don't see Ty around all the time now, like I did in the day when he was busy ruling the rodeo world. Sure special and appreciated that he knew how much it would mean to me to hear from him at the close of that final goodbye to his hero, mentor and friend. The last call like this one was the day Jim Shoulders died. Ty was the first to tell me that, too.
Mahan lived on the wild side, and was always a little bit unusual—a non-conformist in the most complimentary sense of the word.
"If you think back to his era, everybody dressed alike," Ty said. "Larry came along, and he loved to ride. But he didn't look, act, ride, walk or talk like anybody else. He had an open mind that nobody else had. He looked at things differently.
"Mahan's love and passion for the challenge of riding bucking stock has to be the greatest factor in why he was so successful in the arena. And he was far and away the most successful outside the arena, too." …
A lot of you know Ty's become a handy horseman. He broke two of Mahan's colts that summer at 13, and—vintage Mahan—the methods were anything but conventional.
"I'd be on a colt the first time, he'd come running up horseback, rope the colt I was on, open the gate, then off we'd go into the big wide open on the ranch," Ty remembers. "But later that summer, we rode those colts in the grand entry at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs."
Larry introduced young Ty to a whole wide world of opportunity, inside the arena and beyond.
"It was important that Mahan came into my life," Ty said. "He talked to me about the importance of doing interviews, and said things like, 'People can't fathom what it's like to ride a bull. Tell them what it looks like, feels like and smells like.'
"I made more money outside of the arena than in the arena. That was because of Larry. He's the one who told me not to shy away from the media. He's why I agreed to be on 'Dancing with the Stars.'
"Larry Mahan was the first rockstar of rodeo. He came along and became the first superstar of our sport who went outside of our little niche and out into the world."
Part of their bond had to be their being able to relate to each other while breathing the most rarified rodeo air there is. They competed in the same three dangerous, demanding events at the same end of the arena, and they dominated. And that came with a bull's-eye on their backs that was relatable to them both.
I'll never forget how it used to hurt my heart when Ty got to the top, was smashing records right and left, and people would take pot shots at him. He would calmly tell me, "Toots, jealousy is a very ugly emotion." Let me guess, he got such wisdoms from his talks and time with Mahan. Others had no way of knowing what it was like to live their lives. They say it's lonely at the top for a reason. But these two did not need approval beyond the sweat-equity-earned self-satisfaction in their souls.
"Mahan left a big mark on me, for sure," Ty said. "I have a million great memories, and he and I will be forever linked."
The kid in this story is 53 now, and seeing his hero in his final hours was a reminder that, "We're all on the same ride, and we better not be wasting any of it."
Even in death, Larry had one last life lesson for the kid he thought of as a second son. Fate is fierce and strong, and Larry's son, Ty Mahan, preceded him in death when he passed away at 53 three years ago. I'm told son Ty's wife, Christina, has been a real blessing in his life since Larry's beloved wife, JuleAnn, headed to Heaven just ahead of him. Mahan is survived by his daughters, Eliza and Lisa.
Born November 21, 1943 in Salem, Oregon, Larry passed peacefully at home in Valley View, Texas, today, May 7, 2023, with his beautiful daughters by his side. He was 79.
Ride high, Mahan. You earned it.
Much like Dale Earnhardt, Larry Mahan was the man every other man wanted to be — and every woman wanted to be with.
More coverage: PRCA Sports News
