Bonner Bolton (born June 1, 1987) is an American fashion model and former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding.
His bull riding career was cut short by a neck injury sustained during a dismount from a bull he had just finished making an eight-second ride on at a PBR Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) event in January 2016.
The parent company, IMG, of the PBR made an offer to contract him as a fashion model in May 2016.
[1] He was raised on a ranch located between Odessa and Gardendale, Texas, where he learned to train horses and continues to help out.
He received his education from Odessa College and Texas Tech University through bull riding scholarships.
[4] Toya won the George Paul Memorial in his professional bull riding days in 1991.
[1] In January 2008, Bolton won the Findlay Toyota Championship Bull Riding World Champion title at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bolton made a qualified ride on Rafter Jack and scored 88.5 points on him in the second round.
He rode his bull last for a high score of 91 points and brought in the Hobbs championship win.
[9] In March 2015, Bolton came in fourth place at the Fresno, California Invitational, a Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) elite tour event.
He won the championship round with a high score of 88.25 on the bull LL Cool J, his best regular-season performance.
Bolton scored a qualified ride from the bull Painkiller of 87.75 points to win the first round.
[10] Bolton finished up in fourth place in the PBR World Finals at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, which concluded on Sunday, October 25, 2015.
In Vegas, he recorded his first BFTS 90+ point ride on the bull Walk Off which won him Round 2 and $30,000.
Four then-active BFTS bull riders acted as stunt doubles for Eastwood: Bonner Bolton, Josh Faircloth, Markus Mariluch and Billy Robinson.
[18] On August 9, 2014, they were at the Lawrence Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where all four riders (Bolton last) attempted the bull to film a comeback scene where Luke attempts to ride Rango in one of the final scenes of the movie.
Bolton recalled that it was an intense moment in his career: a qualified (eight-second) ride was required for filming, and the production was relying on success.
[16] On Sunday, January 10, 2016, on the final day of the season opener, the Chicago Invitational at the Allstate Arena, Bolton was leading the event.
[6] On Tuesday, doctors operated on Bolton to fuse-spinal fusion-his C2 and C3 vertebrae,[4] inserting into the bones a metal brace.
[4] By this time, Bolton had all the feeling and movement back in his body, but he was required to remain completely still for a month.
[6] He wore a neck collar for several months, but was still physically active once allowed to leave the hospital, helping a friend install flooring and taking long walks.
[22] On March 1, 2017, Bolton was announced as one of the celebrity contestants to compete on the 24th season of Dancing with the Stars and was partnered with Sharna Burgess.