Lane's Early Years

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Although Lane Frost had only a little less than 26 years in this world,
he packed that short time full of experiences and journeys.

On this website the story of Lane's life is divided up into 8 pages.

On this page is a short introduction and Lane's early years.
At the bottom of the page is a link to the next segment,
Lane's high school years.

Introduction

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On July 30, 2002 it was the 13th anniversary of Lane Frost's death.
He was only 25 years old at the time of his death and he had so many dreams and plans for his future.

His memory is alive today in all the young bull riders that strive to be like him.
His name is mentioned often by the riders waiting behind the chutes.
So many write to me and say that they "want to be like Lane."

But to be like Lane isn't only riding bulls like he did.
But talking to people like he did. Helping people like he did.
Taking the time to help, even when there really wasn't time.

Lane is remembered for always saying
"Sure, I got time"
to reporters and interviewers and bull riders looking for help.

That was Lane Frost.

Many people only know about Lane from the movie "8 Seconds"

While the movie was about Lane, it was not a documentary. It was part fact, part fiction, not all truth.

Also, the movie did not show the most important fact about Lane Frost. That he was a Christian.
His family was disappointed and upset with that most of all.

This site will help you learn more about the real Lane Frost.

Lane was about giving.
Giving your all to what ever you did, whether it be for family, friend or work.
Lane would find the time to help others, young people, older people,
other bull riders, anyone that came to him for help.
He was the last to leave after a rodeo, staying to make sure all that wanted to meet him did.

"Sure, I got time"

Lane was about determination.
About being committed to your dreams. And trying your best to
realize them, working hard and long so they come true. And letting nothing stand in your way.

A lot of people don't realize that Lane worked hard at being a great bull rider.
Since he was a small child that was his dream.
He studied videos of other riders and bulls. He worked hard at staying in great physical condition.
He did not drink, smoke, or use drugs. He spent long times on the road competing in rodeos,
away from his home and loved ones. Being a World Champion bull rider was his goal since he was
very young. Elsie Frost, Lane's Mom, said that "while we did not encourage Lane to ride bulls,
we supported his desire to ride them."

He competed when he was hurt. He competed when he was sick.
He competed when he would have rather been at home with his family.

Bull riding didn't come to him as easy as you might think.

But what Lane didn't have to work hard at was giving of himself, and caring about family,
friends, and even complete strangers!

That came easy to Lane.

"Sure, I got time"

Because caring and giving was inside Lane forever, and always was.

Lane was able to show his determination to be the best, but still help others whenever he could
along the way.

The bull riders traveling with Lane once stopped for gas,
and when it was time to go, they found Lane changing a tire for an elderly lady.

That was Lane Frost.

"Lane was never a problem as a kid, because he always wanted to stay busy.
He loved to work. He was never one to sit in front of a TV.
Lane went with his father Clyde quite a bit, no matter how early he left the house,
and was always trying to outdo him, whether it meant trying to shovel feed to the cows faster or whatever.
Lane always worked his heart out."
~Lane's Mom, Elsie Frost~

"Lane would rake the leaves off the grass, and even when we didn't have grass
I would find him raking the leaves off of the dirt!"
~Lane's Dad, Clyde Frost~

"Lane once wanted to build a bull riding arena. He picked a spot out and
Dad said Lane could build it there, but first he would have to take several huge trees down
that would be in the way. Dad thought that taking the trees down would take all summer.
That week Dad left for a few days and when he came back
Lane and his friends had all the trees down and most of them cut up."
~Lane's sister, Robin Frost~

It's not hard to remember Lane the Bull Rider. But let's not forget Lane the Man.

.One more story before Lane's biography begins....

Out of all the stories I've ever read or heard about Lane, the one that I think of the most,
and the one that explains Lane the best, is one he told us about the
"Challenge of the Champions" in 1988.

(Challenge of the Champions was a seven time match-up between Lane, who was the
World Champion Bull Rider for 1987, and Red Rock, the World Champion Bucking Bull for 1987.)

(This first part is told by Karen Martin a licensed PRCA photographer.
It is her photo of Lane and Red Rock you see on Lane's headstone in Mt. Olivet.)

The match at Livermore, Ca. was over.
Lane was "pitching a fit" in Livermore. He had just rode Red Rock for the second time.
The next day a match up was scheduled in Sisters, Oregon.
Now, Lane wanted to fly to Oregon
but John Growney (the owner of Red Rock) insisted that if Red Rock couldn't fly, neither could Lane.
So John loaded Red Rock and Lane in the same rig and drove them both up to Sisters
which is a drive of about 10 hours.
I still smile at the "fit" Lane pitched.
But John said, "fair is fair".
Yes, Lane was grumbling about it but he also had a smile on his face as he got into the truck.
John and Lane were very close.
I remember that I always liked Lane's laugh

This part of the story is from Lane.

At a fuel stop. Lane walked over to the trailer and looked at Red Rock.

"Only hours before", he thought, "10,000 people had come to cheer for them. The next night
in Sisters, another grandstand packed with people will cheer for them.

But now, late at night in the middle of nowhere, all they really were was a
dusty, tired cowboy and a bull."

I think this story partly explains why people were drawn to Lane.

Why it still hurts so much to remember July 30, 1989 in Cheyenne.

Why you want to forget that day, but it lives in your memory forever.

It's always there, in the back of your head, wherever you go, whatever you do.

Even though Lane was a World Champion, and crowds cheered for him,
and waited in lines for his autograph, or to take a picture with him,
he never forgot who he was inside.
He didn't see himself as someone special, and that's what made him all the more special to us.

To him, he was just Lane,
the son of Elsie and Clyde Frost,
the brother of Robin and Cody.

He was just Lane,
the husband of Kellie,
the friend of Tuff Hedeman, Cody Lambert, Clint Branger, and Jim Sharp.

He was just Lane,
who was starting his own ranch, and dreamed of raising bulls of his own.

He was just Lane,
who surprised the mailman when he delivered a package to the ranch
a week after the Finals, and found the new World Champion fixing a fence.

He was just Lane,
who always took time for his fans, and appreciated the attention they gave him.

And he was just Lane, just a dusty, tired cowboy.

Lane loved life. And he loved people.
And for this, people were drawn to Lane.

From his first rodeo to his last rodeo he gave all he had.

Sometimes he gave more than he had, and he paid the price with injuries and pain.

But he never let success change him inside.

That was Lane Frost.

"Sure, I got time"
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Lane's story begins: The Early Years

Lane was born on October 12, 1963. At that time, his parents lived in Lapoint, Utah.
However, Lane's father, Clyde, was on the rodeo circuit as a saddle bronc and bareback rider,
and Lane's mother, Elsie went to stay with her parents in Kim, Co., while she waited for Lane to arrive.

Lane was born in the hospital at La Junta, Co., the closest hospital to Kim.

His full name is Lane Clyde Frost. Clyde after his father, of course!

Lane has an older sister, Robin, and a younger brother, Cody.

When Lane was killed in Cheyenne he was 25, he was 5' 11"and weighed 145 lbs

Lane, at the early age of 5 months, was interested in the bull riding events
at the rodeos his parents attended.

Mrs. Frost is fond of the memory of Lane awakening as the bull riding event,
always the last event held, would begin. And he would cry when his parents stood up to leave early,
to try and beat the crowds. If they returned to watch the bull riding he would quiet down.

	Lane at age 8
ŠFrost Family

His mom made his first pair of chaps for him. She admits to hoping he
"would out-grow this rodeo thing." She knew what a hard life it was, for Lane's father had
competed in rodeos.

Lane started riding little dairy calves on the family dairy farm when he was 5 or 6.
He was 9 when he first got on a bull. However, to the relief of his family, he met Don Gay around that time,
and Don told Lane that he should just ride calves and steers until his bones were more fully developed.
Mrs. Frost says that they had been telling Lane the same thing, but of course he listened to Don!
At the age of 15 Lane started to ride bulls on a regular basis.
Before that, he had been competing on calves and steers.

Lane's first rodeo awards were won in 1974, when he was 10,
at the "Little Buckaroos" Rodeos held in Uintah Basin, UT.

Lane stayed on a bucking Shetland Pony to win first in bareback, took second in calf roping
and rode a calf in the "bull riding" event to place third.
(And that's harder than you would think!)

While rodeoing wasn't the way of life his parents exactly wanted for him, (especially the bulls!)
they never discouraged him, and helped him whenever they could.

And they enjoyed watching young Lane trying to make bucking bulls out of their dairy calves.

Lane spent his first 14 years in Utah, doing chores on the dairy farm his parents owned,
and later competing in various rodeo events.

When Lane was in junior high school (7th & 8th grade), in Vernal, Utah he was very good in wrestling.
Although he never wrestled before entering junior high, as many of the other boys did,
because of his interest in rodeo, the coaches still had great expectations for him.
Lane wrestled at about 75 pounds. During these two years he had 51 matches with 45 wins,
4 losses and 2 tied matches.

Lane also continued competing in the "Little Britches Rodeos", and any other rodeo he could enter,
until his parents moved the family to Lane, OK. in 1978 to escape the harsh Utah winters.

(The name of the town was just a coincidence.)

Also, by moving to Oklahoma, Lane would be closer to the rodeo circuits.

In Oklahoma, Lane continued his rodeo learnings and ridings.
Lane's mom says that, while they did not encourage Lane to ride bulls,
they did support him in his decision.

Lane began his freshman year at Atoka High School, his sister Robin began her
senior year there.

The story continues........Lane's High School Years........