Challenge of the Champions

The Challenge of the Champions in 1988 was a series of seven matchups at seven rodeos that paired up then-reigning Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion Bull Rider Lane Frost with then-reigning PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year Red Rock.

"[2] It was described as "a publicity match made in heaven,"[3] a popular cowboy versus the best bucking bull.

[3] The series was widely covered by the mainstream media, as the best of the best matchup between man and bull was "something that everybody could understand," Growney said.

Red Rock "instinctively knew to take a victory lap" around the arena whenever he bucked off a rider, but was called a "gentle giant" outside of the rodeo ring.

[2] The third match was in Redding, May 20, 1988, and Frost had studied videotapes, consulted with friends, and worked out prior to this event.

[5] Frost was happy to explain how he changed his riding position by sitting well over to the right side, thus staying ahead of the bull’s motion.

[2] This is where Red Rock had lived with his second owner, Mert Hunking, and had bucked in rodeos before joining the PRCA.

[2] Red Rock had an unusual left-hand delivery, but Frost hung on hard for the whistle, later saying it was one of his best rides.

[5]In 1989, Frost was killed by a bull named SO Takin' Care of Business, at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

[2] Today, bull riders still watch video of the Challenge of the Champions match footage on YouTube.

[9] In a July 30, 2016 article published on the PBR's website about the 27th anniversary of Frost's death, it mentions bull riders Nathan Schaper and Kurt Shepherd and others as having watched and studied video of the challenge.

[11] The DVD included interviews with Frost's parents, his friends, Red Rock's owner John Growney, sportscasters, photographers, and actors from the movie 8 Seconds.