Tragedy Strikes Rodeo Community as 14-Year-Old Cowboy Denim Bradshaw Dies After Bull-Riding for the First Time

Tragedy has struck the rodeo community after a 14-year-old cowboy, Denim Bradshaw, died on Saturday while bull-riding for the first time. Denim was riding a bull at the Rafter K. Rodeo Winter Series at American Legion Post 290 in King, North Carolina, when he experienced cardiac arrest. A witness told WFMY 2 that the bull stomped on the boy’s chest. Emergency personnel responded to a call for cardiac arrest around 8:24 p.m., and Denim was taken to the hospital where he later died.

Denim’s passion for the sport was evident to his family, as his sister wrote on a GoFundMe page for his funeral expenses that it was the first bull he had ever ridden at a rodeo. The family noted in the same page how Denim’s passion for the sport led to his untimely death.

The event organizers identified Denim on Facebook and expressed their condolences to his family. The Stokes County EMS official told the Winston-Salem Journal that Denim was thrown from the animal and was in cardiac arrest on the arena floor in front of the stunned crowd.

The rodeo community is mourning the loss of Denim, who was remembered for his courage and passion for the sport. The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses and to honor Denim’s memory. Denim’s sister wrote, “My lil cowboy I will love and miss you so much and I know God will take care of you.”