Brent Thurman

Brent Cullen Thurman (March 3, 1969 – December 17, 1994) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), Bull Riders Only (BRO), and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuits; the last organization of which he was one of the founding members.

Early life Brent Thurman was born on March 3, 1969, in Austin, Texas, to Will Thurman and Kay Thurman (née Goodnight). He had an older brother, Brock, who was two and a half years his senior. His maternal great-great-great uncle was famous cattle rancher Charles Goodnight.

He competed at his third BRO Finals in 1993; the event having returned to Long Beach, California. That same year, he qualified for and competed at his first National Finals Rodeo (NFR), the PRCA's annual year-end world championship rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thurman's funeral service was held on December 22, 1994, at the Travis County Exposition Center in Austin, Texas.

Thurman's father Will died on February 17, 2006, at the age of 66 after battling cancer. His older brother Brock died on July 28, 2021, at the age of 54.

Honors In 1996, the PBR introduced the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award; presented to the bull rider with the highest-marked single ride at the annual PBR World Finals. It was named for Thurman and Lane Frost, who died at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, also killed in a bull-riding accident.

From 1999 through 2017, the Brent Thurman Memorial Bull Riding, a PBR-sanctioned event was held in Thurman's honor to raise money for charity.

In 2002, Thurman was posthumously inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame.

In 2011, Thurman was posthumously inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor.