ProRodeo Sports News - September 17, 2021

Hedeman celebrating 30-year anniversary of final world title Terrific Tuff

BY TRACY RENCK I n 1991, bull rider Tuff Hedeman was in the prime of his PRCA career. It was that year at the National Finals Rodeo that he won his final world championship. Hedeman, also the 1986 and 1989 world champion, took a bumpy road to win title No. 3. “Looking back, that was probably the most fun world title I won,” Hedeman said. “I was starting to grow up. My first son, Lane, was born that year, and coming into the NFR it just felt like I was enjoying what I was doing. The first title I won it was a relief because I probably blew the biggest lead in the history of the world the year before in 1985. The second one I won was the year we lost Lane Frost. There were a lot of emotions, and it was an absolutely horrible year with the exception that I was fortunate enough to win the world. “No part of that year after he was killed was fun. It was a tough deal. I can look back and felt like there were other years I should have won it and didn’t, but in (1991) I caught a break or two and I was truly just enjoying it. When I was younger, it felt like it was life or death whether I won it or not. By that time, I had my first son and everything was coming into perspective for me. It was just really fun.” In May 1991, Hedeman suffered torn ligaments in his right knee. During Round 6 of the ’91 NFR he was dealing with that ailment again when his bull slammed that knee into a post on the way out of the chute. He also twisted his ankle during the accident. Through the magic of the Justin Sportsmedicine team – led by the late Dr. J. Pat Evans –Hedeman, who was 28 at the time, was back riding in Round 7. And Round 7 was no cakewalk. Hedeman got on three bulls that night. His first bull was a re-ride from Round 6, then he rode his Round 7 bull but was offered a re-ride, which he took and made the whistle on. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the battered and bruised Hedeman rose to the occasion in Round 8, claiming the go-round win with a 91-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Skoal Playboy Bunny. To win the world championship, Hedeman needed to make the whistle on Flying Five Rodeo’s CopenhagenThumper, a bull who was previously unridden. “With my determination, I would never let go,” Hedeman said. “That bull took off running and almost ran out from under me. It was an ugly, horrible ride. It was typical of me. There were a lot of times when I made the whistle when it was really ugly. In the bull riding sometimes, it doesn’t really matter. If you get a score and you make the whistle, that’s all that really matters.” He made the 8-second mark and had a 76-point ride. That placed him third in the NFR average and propelled him to another world title with $111,071. “It really doesn’t seem like 30 years ago that happened,” Hedeman said. “I will never forget that year: I did win the world, and I can still remember the details to this day.”

PRCA ProRodeo file photo Tuff Hedeman was in top form at the 1991 National Finals Rodeo, winning his third world title after earning $46,354 at the NFR.

“When I was younger, it felt like it was life or death whether I won it or not. By that time, I had my first son and everything was coming into perspective for me. It was just really fun.” – TUFF HEDEMAN

ProRodeo Sports News 9/17/2021

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