Larry Mahan dead at 79.

https://www.prorodeo.com/news/2023/5/7/general-prorodeo-legend-larry-mahan-passes-away

Hell of a hand. Met him a few times and he was all cowboy.

I’m sure they have good horse in heaven waiting for him to swing up on.

RIP Sir.

When I was growing up he was The Man. I don’t follow rodeo anymore so don’t know the young ones. RIP

RIP Cowboy

Yep.

RIP

Ouch. This one hurts a lot. I grew up idolizing Larry, watching him rodeo while I sat cross-legged in front of our Zenith TV, mesmerized by rodeo and by how dominant Larry was. Then, while being raised at West Texas Boy's Ranch South of San Angelo, a suite-mate of mine and I were called into the main office where we learned that Larry Mahan was looking for some help building a new roping arena right near Camp Verde, Tx. He called Boy's Ranch to see if they had any up & coming rodeo talent that would work for about 10 days for a little $$ and a lot of rough stock rodeo training. My buddy, Frank, and I were 15 years old and were just what Larry was looking for. I had a few wins in the AJRA and NHSRA as a bull rider, and Frank as a saddle bronc rider. Now we were getting to meet our hero, or idol.

Larry worked us like rented mules, cutting and gathering cedar, skinning the poles, and digging post holes. With what little energy we had left in the evenings, Larry put Frank and I through the best training anyone could ever have hoped for. 2 memories that stick out: 1) I thought it was silly at the time, but the first two days all he taught us was how to fall. He had a point, though...injured rodeo riders can't make a living, so he drilled us over & over on how to fall & get bucked off for two full evenings. 2) He introduced Frank and I to chickory coffee. I thought it was awful at the time, but came to like it and still do.

Come Friday, he took us on our first plane ride. Loaded us and our gear up in his single engine plane and flew us to a rodeo where he wanted to watch Ty Murray compete. Of course, he knew the stock contractor & managed to get us both on a couple turn-outs. I rode awfully and so did Frank, but Larry turned everything into a teaching moment and we worked on what he saw on his mechanical bull back at Camp Verde. I won 3 rodeos coming out of Larry's training because not only did he coach us on mechanics, but on what goes on in our heads, and it gave us a real edge.

We wrote each other a couple times over the last 35 years. I sure will cherish those memories.

he was a heck of a cowboy. JR people don’t realize there is an art to falling off and not getting hurt. RIP Cowboy

Such a legend and a damn fine man as well. Great pioneer to rodeo

I saw him several times at Nationals in Oklahoma when I was a kid ,

R I P Cowboy!
He, Jim Shoulders, and Don Gay were my rodeo heroes growing up.

I was only around him once, a guest in his box at a small rodeo. This was like 12 years ago and women were all over him wanting his autograph. A few times after he'd autographed their programs they would hand them to me, thinking I must be somebody. He was super cool, his wife dropped her phone in the arena, without thinking I was over the rail and back in my seat in about 2 seconds with her phone, it was right as they released a saddle bronc rider. He laughed his a-- off and complimented me on my gymnastics. He scored nearly every rider and was right there with the judges most of the time. When he wasn't I was certain they had it wrong. He had great stories and when he took the microphone and addressed the crowd it was silk, no script, just from the heart.

I knew him but not well. Good guy. He explained the $ politics of rodeo performances to me.

JR, you were blessed back then and never knew it. Not many men today could even hold his hat. Much respect to you.

I never learned to fall off without getting hurt. Only bareback bronc I rode in a real rodeo was when I was about 14 and when I went down I broke my arm.
Thats cool that some of yall knew him.