Bull Rider Killed At Rodeo

A rodeo bull flipped in the ring and landed on its rider at the Caribou County Fair and Rodeo, and the rider died of his injuries the next day, officials said.

Daniel Dopps, wearing a vest and a black helmet, was the third contestant out of the gate in bull riding at 8:20 p.m. Saturday, the first event of the night, and never let go of the bull, county sheriff's Cpl. Rick Stokoe said.

A few steps into the ring, the bull made a few small bucks and tripped, putting its head down, digging a horn into the ground and flipping onto Dopps, about 19, of Mountain Home, said Stokoe, who rushed to provide aid.

The rider, ranked 20th in the Wilderness Circuit bull riding standings, was taken first to Caribou Memorial Hospital and then to Eastern Idaho Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where he died Sunday.

Most of the near-capacity crowd stayed for the windup of the two-day rodeo, which resumed later in the evening after a brief delay, said Keith Rigby, a fair board member.

"We didn't know what his real condition was until two or three hours ago. The cowboy was still on the back of the bull. It was kind of a freak deal," Rigby said Sunday night after being informed that Dopps had died.

The rodeo will include bull riding in the future, Rigby said.

"The cowboy wouldn't want it to change any," Rigby said. "They live for this sport. They all know there's a risk in it."

Dopps was at least the second bull rider to die from injuries in the ring during the current rodeo season.

Anthony "Stoney" Covington, 16, of Nespelem, Wash., died after he was bucked off a bull, hit his head against the bull's head and was stomped on the chest by the animal during the Newport, Wash., rodeo on June 25.