Texas bull riding legend J.B. Mauney has revealed the heartwarming reason he adopted the beast that broke his neck and ended his iconic career forever.
Mauney, 37, known as the ‘seven million dollar bull rider’, was forced to retire when he was thrown off one of the toughest bulls in the rodeo world, named Arctic Assassin, in 2023.
‘I just round-a**ed off the thing,’ Mauney told WFAA last week. ‘Felt like somebody stuck a hot knife right in the back of my neck. I’d broke my back before, so I knew. I was like, ‘Son of a b****, I just broke my neck.’
But now in a touching plot twist, he has taken home the bull that nearly killed him. Mauney, finding companionship in the beast, described him as the ‘gentlest bull’ he had ever encountered, akin to a pet dog.
In one video clip Mauney, who is the first bull-rider to get rich from the sport, can be seen affectionately scratching the bull’s back. When he stops, the bull nudges him playfully, asking for more back rubs.
‘He retired me,’ Mauney said. ‘Now he gets to retire with me.’
Mauney took home the bull that nearly killed him and abruptly halted his time in rodeo fame (Pictured: Mauney with the bull who broke his neck, Arctic Assassin, in his ranch at home)
Mauney, 37, known as the ‘seven million dollar bull rider’ was sling-shotted off one of the toughest bulls in the rodeo world, named Arctic Assassin, who ultimately broke his neck – ending his 20-year career. Pictured: Mauney taking his last ride on Arctic Assassin
Mauney said: ‘Of all the mean bulls in my career, the gentle one that acts like a big dog is the one that ended it all.’
‘He’s kind of intimidating because he’s pretty good size. So when you walk out there, like he’ll walk right up on top of you. The only thing you have to worry about is if he steps on your foot on accident. But I mean, just gentle, not a mean bone in his body,’ he added.
The two-time world champion is from Stephenville, Texas, where he lives on a sprawling ranch 90 minutes southwest of Fort Worth, Texas.
He’s married to Samantha Lyne, an American professional barrel racer and daughter of five-time PRCA World Champion Phil Lyne, and they have a son, Jagger.
The bull riding star announced his retirement in September 2023, a week after breaking his neck in the Lewiston Roundup.
‘Surgery went great, and I would like to thank everyone … for taking care of me,’ Mauney wrote at the time. ‘Unfortunately with the surgery, it ended my bull riding career. Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m OK and now on the road to recovery!’
‘(This) is not the way I wanted to go out but everything happens for a reason,’ Mauney said.
When he was thrown off the animal he landed on the side of his head and rolled onto his knees. But when he attempted to stand up, he knew he had broken his neck.
Incredibly he still managed to get up and walk out the arena, even lighting a cigarette. That tough attituded has remained throughout his career.
The two-time world champion, lives on a sprawling ranch 90 minutes southwest of Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, Samantha Lyne, an American professional barrel racer and daughter of five-time PRCA World Champion Phil Lyne, and their son Jagger
Mauney, known as the ‘seven million dollar bull rider,’ is the first bull-rider to get rich from the sport
The bull riding star announced his retirement in September 2023, a week after breaking his neck in the Lewiston Roundup
This wasn’t Mauney’s first injury (Pictured: Mauney flips over the fence as a bull runs loose in the arena on his ranch in Stephenville, Texas on Jan. 1)
He said he would never have left the sport on his own accord – as he was taught to ‘never quit’
Throughout his career, he has suffered broken ribs, a lacerated liver, bruised kidneys and spleen, a broken jaw (on both sides), a broken eye socket, missing teeth, has screws in his hand and shoulder, blown-out knees, a ripped groin muscle
Mauney acknowledged that while it was not how he envisioned leaving the sport, he recognized that ‘everything happens for a reason’
This wasn’t Mauney’s first accident.
He rode his first bull at age fourteen. Since then he has suffered broken ribs, a lacerated liver, bruised kidneys and spleen, a broken jaw (on both sides) and a broken eye socket. He also has missing teeth, screws in his hand and shoulder, blown-out knees and a ripped groin muscle.
He’ll need a hip replacement one day, potentially within the next decade, if not sooner.
Mauney acknowledged that while it was not how he envisioned leaving the sport, he recognized that ‘everything happens for a reason.’
He said he would never have left the sport by choice – as he was taught to ‘never quit.’
‘A buddy of mine, Randy. He said, man, I just hate it ended the way it did,’ Mauney recounted. ‘And I said, why? He said you didn’t end it on your own terms.’
‘I said it was always gonna happen like this,’ he said. ‘I knew that something was gonna have to happen where they had to tell me that I couldn’t ride anymore because the way I went about my whole career was never quit, you know, so I’d have never been able to tell myself I couldn’t do it.
‘And, you know, the way it happened, it worked out all right. I can do everything I was doing before except ride bulls.’
Even in retirement, Mauney remains deeply involved in the world of bull riding, working with bulls and mentoring younger riders
Mauney, finding companionship in the beast, described him as the ‘gentlest bull’ he had ever encountered, akin to a pet dog
Most days he feel alright, others he said he feel about 98-years-old (pictured with his son)
Retired professional bull rider J.B. Mauney with his wife Samantha and son Jagger
His relentless determination, instilled by his father, fueled his career.
He recounted lessons he learned from his father: never back down, never quit – even when injured, get back up again.
‘My dad drilled it in my head when I was young. Like, unless both of your legs are broke and you get your ass up and walk out of that arena, like you don’t lay around out there,’ he said. ‘You know, if both of them are broke, then you crawl.’
‘My dad always told me, ‘All you’re doing is tearing up your body,» Mauney says. ‘He told me, ‘You play the game, you take the pain.’ And I lived by that my whole life.’
Even in retirement, Mauney remains deeply involved in the world of bull riding, working with bulls and mentoring younger riders.
‘You know, pretty much that surgeon told me I land on my head again. There’s two outcomes. I’m either dead or I’m in a wheelchair the rest of my life.’
‘I can still ride horses. I work bulls and being around bulls every day kind of fills the void of not being able to get on bulls and then like Tyler coming and getting on practice bulls, we buck bulls yesterday.’
Mauney talks with the athletes in the locker room during the American Rodeo in Arlington, Texas on March 9
Mauney signs autographs for fans before recording a podcast before the American Rodeo in Arlington
‘Being around it, it’s a double edged sword. Yeah, you wanna be doing it, but I’m still able to be around it and right in the middle of it. So it kind of fills the gap and not being able to ride and looking at this. Now that I got a lot more time I can work on stuff I need to.’
Most days he feel alright, but on others he said he feels about 98-years-old.
But despite facing physical challenges and the prospect of future surgeries, Mauney maintains a positive outlook, cherishing the memories and experiences gained throughout his career.
‘Everybody said, ‘What are you going to do when you’re so old and you can’t get out of bed and [you’re] crippled up?» Mauney says. ‘I said, ‘I guess I’ll just lay there and think about all the good times I had.’ Because I’m 37 now, and I’ve done more in my life than most people ever get to do or see, and had a blast doing it.’
