{{Short description|American bull rider}} {{Infobox person | name = Tuff Hedeman | image = Tuff Hedeman 2024.jpg | caption = Hedeman at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024 | birth_name = Richard Neale Hedeman | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|3|2}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vicroy |first=Kevin |title=Richard "Tuff" Hedeman |url=https://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/bull-riding/richard-tuff-hedeman/ |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy |language=en-US}}</ref> | birth_place = El Paso, Texas, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | alma_mater = Sul Ross State University | occupation = {{ubl|Bull riding event producer|Rancher and team roper |Retired rodeo contestant}} | years_active = 1980-1993; 1995-1998 (as a professional bull rider) | spouse = Tracy Stepp (m. 1986; div. 2015)<br />Liz Rippetoe (m. 2021) | children = 4 | footnotes = }}
'''Richard Neale''' "'''Tuff'''" '''Hedeman''' (born March 2, 1963) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championship three times (1986, 1989 and 1991), as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) world championship. He also won the 1993 world championship for the now-defunct Bull Riders Only (BRO) organization. He is also one of the co-founders of the PBR and is known for having been one of rodeo icon Lane Frost's closest friends. He and the infamous bucking bull, Bodacious, had a few historic clashes. He later served as the President of the PBR and then the President and Ambassador of Championship Bull Riding (CBR). In 2018, he formed his own bull riding organization: the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour (THBRT).
In 2023, Hedeman was ranked No. 2 on the list of the top 30 bull riders in PBR history.<ref name="Top"<ref>{{cite web|title=PBR Top 30|url=http://pbr.com/pbrtop30|website=Professional Bull Riders|access-date=August 20, 2023|archive-date=August 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820062010/https://pbr.com/pbrtop30/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Early life and career== Richard Neale Hedeman was born in El Paso, Texas, to a family from New Mexico. As a young child, he was with a family friend when he had accidentally slammed Hedeman's hand in his truck's door. When he opened the door to release the boy's hand, the family friend saw that he was not crying. As a result, he nicknamed him "Tough Nut". As Hedeman grew, the nickname was eventually shortened to "Tuff" and it stuck.<ref name=Tuff>{{cite web|title=Richard "Tuff" Hedeman: The Michael Jordan of Professional Bull Riding 34 (2016-2017)|url=https://epcc.libguides.com/borderlands/hedeman|website=EPCC|access-date=July 31, 2025}}</ref>
Hedeman was raised at the Sunland Park Racetrack, where both his parents, Red and Clarice, were employed. Tuff started his rodeo career at the age of four. Working from groom to exercising racehorses, his growth spurt ended his jockey career at 14 years of age. He idolized rodeo cowboys Donnie Gay and Larry Mahan.<ref name=Hedeman>{{cite web|title=Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman|url= https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/rodeo-hall-of-fame/richard-neale-tuff-hedeman/|website=National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum|access-date=July 31, 2025}}</ref>
Hedeman won many junior rodeos in his youth. In 1980, he won the high school rodeo bull riding and all-around titles in New Mexico. He won the team roping title and all-around designation again in 1981. After high school, he attended Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. At Sul Ross, he was a member of the rodeo team, competing in saddle bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling, and bull riding.<ref name="cbrbull">{{cite web|title=Championship Bull Riding :: Staff|url=https://www.cbrbull.com/staff.html?people_id=13|website=Championship Bull Riding|publisher=ww.cbrbull.com|access-date=31 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209070319/https://www.cbrbull.com/staff.html?people_id=13|archive-date=9 February 2016}}</ref>
Hedeman filled his PRCA permit at a single rodeo in 1983 as a bronc rider.<ref name="prorodeo" /> He was known for riding bulls that often had not been ridden. He often traveled with fellow bull riders and close friends, Lane Frost, Cody Lambert, Jim Sharp, Clint Branger, and Ty Murray, to save travel expenses. He qualified for 12 National Finals Rodeos (NFRs).<ref name="prorodeo"/> By 1993, he had surpassed $1 million in career earnings and won the 1986, 1989, and 1991 world titles in the PRCA.<ref name="prorodeo"/> Frost was killed during a bull riding accident at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. When Hedeman won his second world championship at the NFR that year, he successfully rode his last bull for the full eight seconds, and rode him an additional eight seconds in memory of Frost.<ref>{{cite web|title=NFR's Most Memorable Moments - Tuff Hedeman Rides for Lane Frost|url=https://www.thecowboychannel.com/nfrs-most-memorable-moments-tuff-hedeman-rides-for-lane-frost|website=The Cowboy Channel|date=December 12, 2020 |access-date=May 20, 2024}}</ref> A neck injury at the NFR in 1993 kept him out of the arena for the entire year of 1994. In that same year, he was portrayed by actor Stephen Baldwin in the Hollywood feature film ''8 Seconds'' about Frost's life. He was actually a stunt double for Baldwin.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Rebhorn|first1=James|title=8 Seconds|date=25 February 1994|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109021/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|last2=Finley|last3=Snodgress|last4=Mayfield|first2=Cameron|first3=Carrie|first4=Dustin|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>
Hedeman was instrumental in starting the Professional Bull Riders, Inc.<ref name="cbrbull" /> In 1995, he won the PBR World Championship despite an encounter with Bodacious that resulted in numerous broken bones in his face.<ref name="cbrbull" /><ref name="newyorker">{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/08/ride-lives|title=The Ride of Their Lives|magazine=The New Yorker|date=December 2014|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref> From 1993 to 1995, Bodacious had been out of competition for long periods due to an injury. However, he returned as a more dangerous animal, having developed a new bucking move "involving him bringing his rear up with his head to the ground, luring a rider to shift his weight forward, and then thrusting his head up full force to smash the rider in the face".<ref name="legends">{{cite web|url=http://www.florodeo.com/article/46982-buck-of-legends-tuff-hedeman-vs-bodacious-21-years-later#.WILkMlzvbmE|title=Buck Of Legends: Tuff Hedeman vs. Bodacious 21 Years Later|website=FloRodeo|date=October 6, 2016 |access-date=January 21, 2017}}</ref> Hedeman was jerked down by Bodacious upon exiting the chutes, so he could thrust his head up and smash Hedeman's face, shattering every major facial bone. Hedeman managed to walk out of the arena, but required several hours of reconstructive surgery for his face.<ref name="21years" /> The incident resulted in him permanently losing his senses of smell and taste. He spent less than two months recuperating, and at the NFR later that year, he drew Bodacious again{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}this time, in Round 7. At his son's request, he decided to turn him out{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}getting off him when he left the chute{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}and received a standing ovation.<ref name="newyorker" />
Hedeman barely missed winning a second consecutive PBR world title in 1996, losing to Owen Washburn as he came in second. Hedeman then finished third in the world during the 1997 PBR season. His last ride was at the PBR Bud Light Cup event in Odessa, Texas, in 1998, when in the first round, he landed on his head after getting bucked off and herniated a disc in his previously injured neck, which required surgery.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19980425061351/http://pbrnow.com/Tuff.injury.html World Champion Bull Rider Tuff Hedeman Scheduled for Neck Surgery]</ref> He was leading both the PBR and PRCA world standings in 1998 at the time of his injury. After some consideration, he officially retired in 1999.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://redneckyachtclub.com/rodeo-star-tuff-hedeman-up-close/|title=Rodeo Star Tuff Hedeman Up Close ⋆ Redneck Yacht Club|date=27 September 2015|work=Redneck Yacht Club|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref> He is one of the estimated seven to ten riders to have ever ridden Bodacious for the qualified eight seconds, with the stand-out ride being a 95-point ride at the 1993 Bull Riders Only (BRO) World Finals in Long Beach, California.<ref name="21years">{{Cite news|url=http://www.florodeo.com/article/46982-buck-of-legends-tuff-hedeman-vs-bodacious-21-years-later#.WROURXlMHmF|title=Buck Of Legends: Tuff Hedeman vs. Bodacious 21 Years Later|work=FloRodeo|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>
==Post-career== Hedeman served as president of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) from 1992 to 2004 and was a commentator for televised PBR events from 1999 to 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hedeman tackles a tough draw|url=https://toughdrawfilm.com/hedemantacklestoughdraw/|website=Tough Draw|access-date=July 31, 2025}}</ref>
In January 2005, Hedeman joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Xtreme Bulls tour and briefly worked as a sideline reporter for televised events. In May of the same year, he became president of Championship Bull Riding (CBR). He worked as chute boss through that year's Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale in September. By 2006, he was working full time at CBR. He served as president from 2005 through 2011 and was a commentator for televised CBR events from 2006 through 2008. He remained with said organization as ambassador and chute boss from 2011 to January 2018.<ref name=Tuff/><ref name="cbrbull" />
Hedeman left CBR (which later folded in the summer of 2018) to start his own organization: the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour (THBRT).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tour|first1=Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding|title=Bull Riding Icon Launches Tour and Website|url=https://www.prlog.org/12689566-bull-riding-icon-launches-tour-and-website.html|website=PRLog|publisher=www.prlog.org|access-date=31 January 2018}}</ref>
==Personal life== Hedeman lives in Stephenville, Texas. His oldest son, Lane, is named after his best friend and fellow champion bull rider, Lane Frost, who died in a rodeo accident in 1989.<ref name=Hedeman/> His younger sons are Trevor, Ryker, and Ripp. He spends his free time traveling to bull riding and team roping events. He married Tracy Stepp in 1986 and they divorced in 2015. He married Liz Rippetoe in 2021. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Tracy Stepp Tuff Hedeman Wife – Qmunicate Magazine |url=https://qmunicatemagazine.com/tracy-stepp-tuff-hedeman-wife/#:~:text=Born%20in%20the%20year%201970,cross%20paths%20with%20Tuff%20Hedeman. |access-date=2023-12-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> His older brother is Gary "Roach" Hedeman, who was a rodeo bullfighter in the PRCA and PBR, and participated at the 1996 NFR and the PBR World Finals from 1996 through 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gary "Roach" Hedeman|url=https://texasrodeocowboy.com/inductees/gary-roach-hedeman/|website=Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame|access-date=June 10, 2024}}</ref>
==Awards== * 1986, 1989, 1991 PRCA Bull Riding World Champion<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://prorodeo.com/prorodeo/cowboys/world-champions-historical/|title=PRCA World Champions (Historical)|website=prorodeo.com|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref> * 1987, 1989 NFR Bull Riding Average Champion<ref name="cbrbull" /> * 1993 First $1,000,000 Bull Rider<ref name="cbrbull" /> * 1995, 1996 PBR Touring Pro Division Champion<ref name="cbrbull" /> * 1995 PBR World Champion<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbrworldfinals.com/history/|title=PBR World Finals History|website=www.pbrworldfinals.com\History|publisher=Professional Bull Riders|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>
==Honors== {{Portal|Biography|Texas|Colorado}}
* 1988 Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cowboycapitalprcarodeo.com/walk-of-fame/|title=Walk of Fame – Cowboy Capital of the World|website=www.cowboycapitalprcarodeo.com|access-date=25 May 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223082754/http://www.cowboycapitalprcarodeo.com/walk-of-fame/|archive-date=23 February 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> * 1997 ProRodeo Hall of Fame<ref name="prorodeo">{{cite web|url=https://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/bull-riding/richard-tuff-hedeman/|title=Richard "Tuff" Hedeman - Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame|website=Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame|access-date=20 May 2024}}</ref> * 1997 El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://elpasoathletichalloffame.com/members.html|title=Members {{!}} El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame|website=elpasoathletichalloffame.com|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref> * 1999 PBR Ring of Honor<ref>{{cite web|title=PBR Ring of Honor|url=https://pbr.com/heroes-and-legends/|website=Professional Bull Riders|access-date=January 31, 2026}}</ref> * 2002 Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tchof.com/post/tuff-hedeman|title=Tuff Hedeman|date=November 20, 2000|publisher=Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame {{!}} Fort Worth Texas|access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="cbrbull" /> * 2003 Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfdrodeo.com/cfd-old-west-museum/our-story/history/cheyenne-frontier-days-hall-of-fame-inductees|title=Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame|website=www.cfdrodeo.org|access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref> * 2010 Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.texasrodeocowboy.com/past_inductees.html|title=Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame: Past Inductees|website=www.texasrodeocowboy.com|access-date=10 May 2017|archive-date=August 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816234917/http://www.texasrodeocowboy.com/past_inductees.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 2016 Bull Riding Hall of Fame<ref>{{cite web|title=Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees|url=https://thebullridinghof.com/pages/inductee-list|website=Bull Riding Hall of Fame|access-date=August 19, 2023}}</ref> * 2017 Molalla Walk of Fame<ref>{{cite web|title=Walk of Fame - Molalla Area Chamber of Commerce, OR|url=http://www.molallachamber.com/pages/WalkofFame|website=www.molallachamber.com|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=July 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728201948/http://www.molallachamber.com/pages/WalkofFame|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 2020 Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum<ref name=Hedeman/> * 2023 No. 2 on the list of the top 30 bull riders in PBR history<ref name="Top" />
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Authority control}}
==External links== * [http://www.tuffhedemanbullriding.com/ Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedeman, Tuff}} Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from El Paso, Texas Category:Ranchers from Texas Category:Sul Ross State University alumni Category:Bull riders Category:ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sportspeople from Texas Category:Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends Category:Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductees