Phil Lyne (born January 18, 1947) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who competed in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA)/Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). [note 1] He was the RCA Rookie of the Year in 1969. Two seasons later at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), in 1971, he won the all-around cowboy world championship and the tie-down roping world championship. At the NFR in 1972, he repeated as the all-around world champion cowboy and added a second tie-down roping world championship. Lyne won his first and only steer roping world championship at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) in 1990.
Lyne was born in San Antonio, Texas, on January 18, 1947. [2] As a boy on his family's ranch, he practiced rodeo skills: [3] his father taught him roping, while friends taught him bull riding. [4] Lyne entered his first rodeo when he was four years old, and won numerous prizes in youth competitions. In high school, he finished in first place in the 1965 Texas Youth Rodeo Association finals, and was second in the National High School Rodeo all-around standings, winning the national high school title in the tie-down roping event. Lyne attended Southwest Texas Junior College, using scholarships he earned in rodeo events to pay his tuition. [5] At the 1967 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association's (NIRA) College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), he finished in second place in the ribbon roping event. [6] The following year, he was named the individual all-around champion and won the national championship in tie-down roping. In 1969, when he was a student at Sam Houston State University, Lyne again won the NIRA all-around and tie-down roping titles. [7] He turned professional before he could earn enough credits to graduate from Sam Houston State. [3] After joining the RCA in 1969, Lyne was named the circuit's Rookie of the Year, [8] with season earnings of $12,500. [9] In his second season on the RCA, 1970, Lyne ended the year in third place in the all-around cowboy standings. [3]
In 1971, Lyne earned prize money in every discipline. Larry Mahan, the five-time defending all-around world champion cowboy, suffered a broken leg during the bareback bronc riding event at the September Ellensburg Rodeo, eliminating him from title contention. [3] Lyne maintained a busy schedule; by November, prior to the final event of the season, the NFR, he took part in 112 rodeos, in some weeks entering 3–4 competitions. [9] Going into the NFR, he held a $2,177 lead in season earnings over the second-place cowboy, Bob Berger. Despite competing in one fewer NFR event than Berger, Lyne retained his advantage (aided by Berger suffering multiple injuries from being thrown off of bulls). Lyne set an NFR record by roping a calf in 8.5 seconds. He earned the all-around cowboy world championship for 1971, as well as the tie-down roping world championship. [3] Lyne said in a Sports Illustrated article that he planned to "stick with this a couple, three years and then go back to ranching." [3]
Lyne again contended for the all-around cowboy world championship at the NFR in 1972; his primary competitor was Mahan. The pair's efforts to win the title were documented in the film The Great American Cowboy , which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. [10] In 1972, Lyne entered 126 rodeos; The New York Times estimated that "he [had] flown commercially almost as much as Henry Kissinger has. [11] By the NFR, Lyne had wrapped up his second consecutive all-around cowboy and tie-down roping world championships. [11] He won $60,852 in total prize money, setting an RCA single-season record. [12] He was the all-around average earnings leader at the NFR, [13] and led in average earnings in tie-down roping and bull riding. As of 2019, he was one of three cowboys (along with Ace Berry and Don McLaughlin) to win multiple event average titles at an NFR. [14] The bull riding average championship at the NFR helped Lyne finish second in season earnings for that event. [15] After Lyne rode nine of his ten bulls in the finals, he won the title of reserve bull riding champion. [8] One of the bulls Lyne rode at the NFR that year was a two-time hall of fame bull known only by his brand, V-61. Lyne drew the bull in the sixth round and successfully rode him, earning 70 points. [16] [17] [18] Lyne was one of only four bull riders to score a qualified ride off the bull. [16] He was only ridden for the requisite eight-seconds five times in 930 attempts. [16] [19]
After the 1972 season, Lyne retired from rodeo competition, [8] as he decided to raise his daughters on his family's Texas ranch. [20] The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted Lyne in 1979, as part of its inaugural class of honorees. That year, Lyne came out of retirement and competed part-time. [8] In 1983 and 1986, Lyne won the steer roping average earnings title at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR). [21] He is the first cowboy to finish first in NFR average earnings in three events during his career. Trevor Brazile joined him in 2012. [14] [22] Despite not competing full-time in rodeos, Lyne won the 1990 PRCA steer roping championship. [20]
Lyne considered tie-down roping to be his strongest event, [9] with bull riding his personal favorite. [4] He also participated in saddle bronc riding and steer wrestling during his pro rodeo career, but tried to avoid competing in bareback bronc riding, since he believed that it would hurt his arm and hinder him in tie-down roping. [9] Lyne did not own any horses that he rode in tie-down roping; he used more than 90 different horses in the discipline during one season. [23] Mahan said of Lyne, "he fools you because, without any showmanship, he just plain gets the job done." [11] Lyne is married to his wife, Sarah. They live in Cotulla, Texas, [4] and have two daughters, Amanda and Samantha. Amanda is married to former rodeo bullfighter Seth "Shorty" Gorham. [24] Samantha, a former Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racer who qualified for the 2014 NFR, is married to famous former bull rider J.B. Mauney. [25] [26] [27] [28]
The Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) is one of the largest rodeo sanctioning bodies in the world and is open exclusively to women eighteen years of age and older. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Association currently has over 3,000 members from all over the contiguous United States, Canada, and Australia.
Lane Clyde Frost was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull rider. He was also the only rider ever to score a qualified ride on Red Rock, the 1987 PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year.
The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). The PRCA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.
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Ty Monroe Murray, is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He competed in the three "roughstock" events; bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. He won nine world championships in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA); seven in all-around and two in bull riding. He was also one of the co-founders and a board adviser of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). From 2005 to 2020, he was also a regular color commentator for several televised PBR events.
Larry Mahan was an American professional rodeo cowboy. He won six all-around world championships and two bull riding world championships in the Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit at the National Finals Rodeo.
James A. Shoulders was an American professional rodeo cowboy and rancher. He is commemorated at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. At the time of his death, he was one of the most successful contestants in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), having won 16 World Championships, which was the most of any performer at that time. He was known as the 'Babe Ruth of rodeo'.
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Lewis Feild was an American professional rodeo cowboy. He specialized in bareback bronc riding and saddle bronc riding and competed on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. He was the All-Around World Champion from 1985 to 1987 at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). He was also the Bareback Riding World Champion from 1985 to 1986. The ProRodeo Hall of Fame inducted him in 1992 in the all-around category.
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