{{Short description|American bull rider (1993-2019)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson | image = Mason_Lowe.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = Mason Lee Lowe | fullname = | nickname = | nationality = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1993|9|12}} | birth_place = Springfield, Missouri, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|1|15|1993|9|12}} | death_place = Denver, Colorado, U.S. | height = {{height|ft=5|in=11}} | weight = {{convert|155|lb|kg}} | website = | country = | sport = Rodeo | event = Bull riding | collegeteam = | club = | team = | turnedpro = 2012 | years_active = 2012–2019 | coach = | retired = | coaching = | worlds = | regionals = | nationals = | highestranking = 9th | pb = }}
'''Mason Lee Lowe''' (September 12, 1993 – January 15, 2019)<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH5RWjGGgZ0|title=Pro Bull Rider Mason Lowe Dies During Competition|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit. He was ranked 18th in the PBR world standings at the time of his death.<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/16/mason-lowe-death-pbr-bull-riding|title=Professional rider Mason Lowe dies after bull steps on his chest at PBR event|date=January 16, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=January 17, 2019|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
==Early life== Mason Lowe was born in Springfield, Missouri, on September 12, 1993, to Stacy Lowe and Melissa Reed. He grew up in Exeter, Missouri. <ref name="Monett">{{cite web |title=Mason L. Lowe |url=https://www.monett-times.com/story/2581554.html |website=Monett Times |access-date=January 18, 2019 |date=January 18, 2019 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121226/https://www.monett-times.com/story/2581554.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> His interest in bull riding started as a toddler; when he was three years old he rode the milk calves on his family farm.<ref name="NewsLeader">{{Cite web|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/2016/09/08/lowe-looking-put-show-home-state-pbr-event/90008560/|title=Lowe looking to put on a show in home state at PBR event|website=Springfield News-Leader|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> He participated in junior rodeos, and skipped high school rodeos to enter the amateur bull riding aged fifteen, competing throughout the Midwest. About this choice, he said he sometimes regretted not participating at high school level, but also believed that he was more prepared for professional tours thanks to the amateur competitions.<ref name="NewsLeader" /> Watching the PBR growing up, he named Chris Shivers as his role model.<ref name="NewsLeader" />
==Career== Lowe got his PBR card as soon as he turned eighteen.<ref name="JQHArena">{{Cite web|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/2017/09/05/southwest-missouri-professional-bull-rider-no-14-world-returns-jqh-arena/626787001/|title=Southwest Missouri professional bull rider â€" No. 14 in the world â€" returns to JQH Arena|website=Springfield News-Leader|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> In 2013, he won the year-end title for the semi-pro National Federation of Professional Bullriders (NFPB).<ref>{{cite web|title=Federation Cup National Champions|url=https://www.nfpbullriders.com/nfpb-info.html|website=National Federation of Professional Bullriders|access-date=January 5, 2025}}</ref> He competed in PBR tour circuits in the 2015 season, where he advanced to the PBR World Finals and earned $102,000.<ref name="NewsLeader" /> In his initial competitions, he was placed at 164th in the world.<ref name="JQHArena" /> He suffered a wrist injury between seasons, in the summer of 2016.<ref name="NewsLeader" /><ref name="KC">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kansascity.com/sports/article131872439.html|title=Missouri native Mason Lowe ready to ride as Professional Bull Riders Tour hits KC|website=kansascity|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> At the start of his second season, he was considered one of the talented up-and-coming riders in contention with the veteran riders.<ref name="NewsLeader" /> It was at the start of this season in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that he got his first 90-point ride, staying on Bruiser, owned by D&H Cattle Company, for 91 points.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lowe gets long desired first win|url=https://pbr.com/news/2016/03/lowe-gets-long-desired-first-win/|website=www.pbr.com|date=March 23, 2016 |publisher=Professional Bull Riders|access-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref> Towards the middle of his second season he had a run without placing in the top ten in six straight competitions, but in the seventh competition, he placed first at Albuquerque, New Mexico, taking his first win at a Built Ford Tough Series event.<ref name="KC" />
After that, he did not compete over the winter, spending time in California to prevent injury, and returned in February 2017 at the Sprint Center in his home state of Missouri, being ranked 12th in the world at the start of 2017.<ref name="KC" /> At the Iron Cowboy event in February 2017 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Lowe became only the second rider to complete a ride on Smooth Operator, owned by Chad Berger. With a 90.75 point ride, Lowe moved to 9th in world rankings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wranglernetwork.com/news/lowe-wins-highest-marked-ride-award-at-iron-cowboy/|title=Lowe Wins Highest-Marked Ride Award at Iron Cowboy|last=Felisko|first=Justin|website=Wrangler Network|date=February 19, 2017 |access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> In early June 2017 he suffered a small injury from a completed ride, leaving him limping for a while but not interfering with his competition schedule. He won his next ride with another 8-second stay in the two-round competition, at the 14th J.W. Hart PBR Challenge. This feat moved him up to be 11th in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wcmessenger.com/articles/hanging-on-lowe-wins-j-w-hart-pbr-challenge/|title=Hanging on: Lowe wins J.W. Hart PBR Challenge {{!}} WCMessenger.com|date=June 7, 2017 |access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> In the 2017 season he earned over $110,000 but by the start of the 2018 season, he had dropped back to be ranked 14th in the world.<ref name="JQHArena" />
Lowe always enjoyed competing near home.<ref name="NewsLeader" /><ref name="JQHArena" /><ref name="KC" />
He qualified for the PBR World Finals three times (2015–2017) but failed to qualify in 2018, his last full season.<ref>[https://probullstats.com/rider/Mason+Lowe Mason Lowe - Bull Rider Profile / Stats]</ref>
==Death== Lowe was competing at a PBR Velocity Tour event at the Denver Coliseum as part of the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, on January 15, 2019, and was thrown from his bull. However, the bull — Hard Times, owned by Cervi Championship Rodeo,<ref name="pbr">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbr.com/rider/5559/lowe-mason|title=Mason Lowe at PBR|access-date=January 17, 2019|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607030423/https://www.pbr.com/rider/5559/lowe-mason|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bull rider dies of injuries sustained in Denver competition days before Fort Worth rodeo |url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/fw-stock-show/article224621260.html |website=star-telegram |access-date=January 19, 2019}}</ref> — then turned and his back legs stepped hard on his chest before moving off. Eyewitness reports said he did stand, then grasped his chest before collapsing.<ref name="stockshow">{{cite web|url=https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/01/16/mason-lowe-bull-rider-dies-national-western-stock-show/|title=Mason Lowe dies after ride at National Western Stock Show|access-date=January 17, 2019|website=CBS|date=January 16, 2019 }}</ref> He was treated at Denver Health Medical Center, but died from extensive damage to his heart, heart valve, and aorta,<ref name="Guardian" /> the one-ton bull crushing his chest even though he was wearing a protective vest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://koaa.com/news/2019/01/16/risk-and-passion-bull-riding-pros-react-to-death-during-pbr-event/|title=Risk and passion: Bull riding pros react to death during PBR event|date=January 17, 2019 |access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> He was ranked 18th in the PBR world standings at the time of his death.<ref name="Guardian"/> The following day of competition, all riders were wearing memorial patches. The PBR sent support to his wife, Abbey.<ref name="Guardian" /> The organization said that Hard Times would stay in competition because they believed the injury was done "absolutely unintentionally".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2019/01/16/bull-killed-rider-mason-lowe-stock-show/|title=Bull that killed rider Mason Lowe at National Western Stock Show will stay in PBR circuit|date=January 17, 2019 |access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> Lowe was the third bull rider to be killed in PBR competition since the organization was founded.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/01/17/professional-bull-rider-cowboys-cowboy-dies-after-being-stomped-during-competition|title=Professional bull rider cowboy dies after being stomped during competition|newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref>
His funeral service was held on January 23, 2019, at the Open Bible Praise Center in Boonville, Missouri.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thousands attend funeral of Rocheport bull rider Mason Lowe|url=https://krcgtv.com/news/local/thousands-attend-funeral-of-rocheport-bull-rider-mason-lowe|website=www.krcgtv.com|date=January 23, 2019 |access-date=December 12, 2024}}</ref>
Hard Times' final career out was in August 2020 at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeo in Kalispell, Montana. By that point, the bull was now known as Chigger.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chigger AKA Hard Times|url=https://probullstats.com/bulls/41604|website=ProBullStats|access-date=April 28, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Chigger career outs|url=https://probullstats.com/bulls/outlist.php?bull=41604|website=ProBullStats|access-date=April 28, 2025}}</ref>
==Honors== In Lowe's memory, PBR riders wore memorial patches for the rest of the 2019 season. The organization also temporarily renamed their annual Premier Series event at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, as the Mason Lowe Memorial for said season.<ref>{{cite web |title=PBR announces Mason Lowe Memorial Event in St. Louis |url=https://montanasports.com/more-sports/rodeo/2019/01/20/pbr-announces-mason-lowe-memorial-event-in-st-louis/ |website=Montana Sports |access-date=May 3, 2020 |date=January 20, 2019}}</ref>
The annual Ridin' with Mason Lowe memorial event in Cassville, Missouri, has been held since 2019. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ridin' with Mason Lowe Invitational returns to Cassville |url=https://www.monett-times.com/story/2870526.html |website=Monett Times |access-date=August 30, 2021 |date=March 10, 2021 |archive-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830172237/https://www.monett-times.com/story/2870526.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2019 and 2021, the Ridin' with Mason Lowe event was a part of the PBR's lower-level Touring Pro Division, but since 2022 has been an independent, unsanctioned event.
Since 2019, the PBR has awarded the Mason Lowe Award, given to the rider who scores the highest single ride during the regular season of the Unleash the Beast Series (UTB).<ref>{{cite web |title=Lockwood honored to receive first Mason Lowe Award |url=https://pbr.com/news/2019/12/jess-lockwood-honored-to-receive-first-mason-lowe-award/ |website=Professional Bull Riders |date=December 2, 2019 |access-date=December 20, 2020}}</ref>
==Personal life== On June 9, 2018, Lowe married Abbey Cooper in Pilot Grove, Missouri. They lived in Rocheport, Missouri, with their dog Gator.<ref name="Monett" /> After his death on January 15, 2019, Lowe left behind a widow, Abbey, and other family.<ref name="stockshow" />
==See also == *Lane Frost *Brent Thurman *Glen Keeley
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Authority control}} {{Use American English|date=May 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Mason}} Category:1993 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Bull riders Category:Deaths due to bull attacks Category:People from Barry County, Missouri Category:Sports deaths in Colorado Category:Sportspeople from Springfield, Missouri