Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman was born on March 2,1963 and is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding.
30 Facts About Tuff Hedeman
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Tuff Hedeman won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association bull riding world championship three times, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders world championship.
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Tuff Hedeman won the 1993 world championship for the now-defunct Bull Riders Only organization.
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Tuff Hedeman is one of the co-founders of the PBR and is known for having been one of rodeo icon Lane Frost's closest friends.
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Tuff Hedeman later served as the President of the PBR and then the President and Ambassador of Championship Bull Riding.
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In 2018, he formed his own bull riding organization: the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour.
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In 2023, Hedeman was ranked No 2 on the list of the top 30 bull riders in PBR history.
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Tuff Hedeman was born in El Paso, Texas, to a family from New Mexico, and won many junior rodeos in his youth.
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Tuff Hedeman won the team roping title and all-around designation again in 1981.
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Tuff Hedeman filled his PRCA permit at a single rodeo in 1983 as a bronc rider.
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Tuff Hedeman was known for riding bulls that often had not been ridden.
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Tuff Hedeman often traveled with fellow bull riders and close friends, Lane Frost, Cody Lambert, Jim Sharp, Clint Branger, and Ty Murray, to save travel expenses.
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When Tuff 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.
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Tuff Hedeman was instrumental in starting the Professional Bull Riders, Inc In 1995, he won the PBR World Championship despite an encounter with Bodacious that resulted in numerous broken bones in his face.
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Tuff Hedeman was jerked down by Bodacious upon exiting the chutes, so he could thrust his head up and smash Tuff Hedeman's face, shattering every major facial bone.
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Tuff Hedeman managed to walk out of the arena, but required several hours of reconstructive surgery for his face.
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Tuff Hedeman barely missed winning a second consecutive PBR world title in 1996, losing to Owen Washburn as he came in second.
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Tuff Hedeman then finished third in the world during the 1997 PBR season.
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Tuff Hedeman's 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.
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Tuff Hedeman was leading both the PBR and PRCA world standings in 1998 at the time of his injury.
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Tuff Hedeman 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 World Finals in Long Beach, California.
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Tuff Hedeman served as president of the PBR from 1992 to 2004 and was a commentator for televised PBR events from 1999 to 2004.
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Tuff Hedeman later worked as chute boss through that year's Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale, before joining CBR later in the year.
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Tuff Hedeman was president of CBR from 2005 through 2011 and was a commentator for televised CBR events from 2006 through 2008.
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Tuff Hedeman remained with said organization as ambassador and chute boss from 2011 to early 2018.
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Tuff Hedeman then left CBR to start his own organization: the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour.
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Tuff Hedeman spends his free time traveling to bull riding and team roping events.
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Tuff Hedeman married Tracy Stepp in 1986 and they divorced in 2015.
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Tuff Hedeman's older brother is Gary "Roach" Hedeman, who was a rodeo bullfighter in the PRCA and PBR.
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Tuff Hedeman participated at the 1996 NFR and the PBR World Finals from 1996 through 1999.