Post by cowboyup1991 on Jun 29, 2009 2:05:07 GMT -5
Twelve-year-old Richard Wayde Hamar of Yuma was killed in a bull-riding competition at the Little Britches Rodeo at the Boulder County Fairground in Longmont this morning.
Hamar was wearing a helmet and padded vest, but after he was thrown, the bull stepped on his stomach, officials said.
His parents were in attendance at the two-day rodeo for youth 8 to 18 years old.
"He held on for a few seconds," Katy Sinclair, who witnessed the accident, told the Boulder Daily Camera. "When he hit the ground, the bull just ran him over. I could see the bull's legs hit his chest.
"It was one of the worst things I've ever seen," she said. "It was horrible."
A woman who answered the phone at the Hamar home in Yuma said the family was to distraught to talk about Wayde this evening.
Mitch Hamar, the boy's father, is in the livestock business in Yuma.
Rodeo clowns chased the bull away and emergency personnel already at the event quickly began life-saving efforts, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Department. The boy was rushed to Longmont United Hospital, where he died from his internal injuries.
An autopsy planned for Monday will determine the injuries that killed him, according to the Boulder County coroner's office.
The National Little Britches Rodeo Association, which oversees youth rodeo activities across the United States, mandates helmets and vests for competitors younger than 18.
A spokesperson for the National Little Britches Rodeo, based in Colorado Springs, was not immediately available this evening.
Hamar was ranked 55th nationally among 69 ranked youth bullriders vying for a spot in the Little Britches national finals July 27 to Sept. 1 at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.
Wayde's death was not the first for young rodeo competitors.
In February 2005, a 9-year-old Braeden Chamberlain from Alberta, Canada, was stepped on in the chest by a 650-pound heifer after he was thrown during a rodeo practice session in Canada.
In June 2005, 16-year-old Anthony "Stoney" Covington of Nespelem, Wash. was killed when his head collided with the bull's head as he was being bucked off during a Newport, Wash., rodeo.
In January 2008, Peyton D. Jackson, 16, of Alma, Ark., was killed when he was trampled by a bull during a competition at the Muskogee Fairgrounds in Oklahoma.
In December 2002, 18-year-old Adam Scott of White Cloud, Mich., died after he was stepped on during rodeo near Flint, Mich.
In January 2001, 16-year-old Chad Thomas of Butler County, Ohio, was killed after he was caught in a rope in a local rodeo.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I knew Wayde. I was not in Longmont but had a few friends that were. they said he got back on his pockets and got dashboarded landing on his head with the bulls back legs went down the front of his vest blowing both lungs and piercing his heart.
Hamar was wearing a helmet and padded vest, but after he was thrown, the bull stepped on his stomach, officials said.
His parents were in attendance at the two-day rodeo for youth 8 to 18 years old.
"He held on for a few seconds," Katy Sinclair, who witnessed the accident, told the Boulder Daily Camera. "When he hit the ground, the bull just ran him over. I could see the bull's legs hit his chest.
"It was one of the worst things I've ever seen," she said. "It was horrible."
A woman who answered the phone at the Hamar home in Yuma said the family was to distraught to talk about Wayde this evening.
Mitch Hamar, the boy's father, is in the livestock business in Yuma.
Rodeo clowns chased the bull away and emergency personnel already at the event quickly began life-saving efforts, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Department. The boy was rushed to Longmont United Hospital, where he died from his internal injuries.
An autopsy planned for Monday will determine the injuries that killed him, according to the Boulder County coroner's office.
The National Little Britches Rodeo Association, which oversees youth rodeo activities across the United States, mandates helmets and vests for competitors younger than 18.
A spokesperson for the National Little Britches Rodeo, based in Colorado Springs, was not immediately available this evening.
Hamar was ranked 55th nationally among 69 ranked youth bullriders vying for a spot in the Little Britches national finals July 27 to Sept. 1 at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.
Wayde's death was not the first for young rodeo competitors.
In February 2005, a 9-year-old Braeden Chamberlain from Alberta, Canada, was stepped on in the chest by a 650-pound heifer after he was thrown during a rodeo practice session in Canada.
In June 2005, 16-year-old Anthony "Stoney" Covington of Nespelem, Wash. was killed when his head collided with the bull's head as he was being bucked off during a Newport, Wash., rodeo.
In January 2008, Peyton D. Jackson, 16, of Alma, Ark., was killed when he was trampled by a bull during a competition at the Muskogee Fairgrounds in Oklahoma.
In December 2002, 18-year-old Adam Scott of White Cloud, Mich., died after he was stepped on during rodeo near Flint, Mich.
In January 2001, 16-year-old Chad Thomas of Butler County, Ohio, was killed after he was caught in a rope in a local rodeo.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I knew Wayde. I was not in Longmont but had a few friends that were. they said he got back on his pockets and got dashboarded landing on his head with the bulls back legs went down the front of his vest blowing both lungs and piercing his heart.