Tuff Hedeman
Tuff Hedeman | |
|---|---|
Hedeman at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024 | |
| Born | Richard Neale Hedeman March 2, 1963 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Sul Ross State University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1980-1993; 1995-1998 (as a professional bull rider) |
| Spouse(s) | Tracy Stepp (married 1986-2015) Liz Rippetoe (married 2021-present) |
| Children | 4 |
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.