Cody Lambert (born December 2, 1961) in

Artesia, New Mexico Artesia is a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, centered at the intersection of U.S. routes 82 and 285; the two highways serve as the city's Main Street and First Street, respectively. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,301. Hist ...

is an American former professional

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

. He specialized in

saddle bronc riding Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or ''bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally ba ...

and

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

. He was also a co-founder and vice president of the

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...

(PBR). He created the protective vest that professional bull riders have been required to wear for many years, after witnessing the death of his friend,

Lane Frost Lane Clyde Frost (October 12, 1963 – July 30, 1989) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull ride ...

at the

Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of ...

rodeo in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

, on July 30, 1989.

Early and personal life

Cody Lambert is the son of racehorse trainer Cliff Lambert, who was the first jockey to win the

All American Futurity The All American Futurity is a race for two-year-old American Quarter Horse racehorses run at Ruidoso Downs Race Track in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico on Labor Day. It is the last leg of the AQHA Triple Crown that has only been won once, by Special Ef ...

at Ruidoso Downs aboard Galobar in 1959. Cody has three siblings, brothers Chuck and Casey Lambert, the latter a successful racehorse jockey, and sister Cheyann. Cody lives in

Bowie, Texas Bowie ( ) is a town in Montague County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,218 at the 2010 census. History On July 22, 1881, Bowie was incorporated as a town in Montague County, Texas. (There is also a Bowie County, which includes ...

, on a ranch with his wife, Leanne, and their horses and dogs.

Contestant career

Cody Lambert,

Ty Murray Ty Monroe Murray (born October 11, 1969), is an American nine-time World Champion professional rodeo cowboy. He was one of the top rodeo contestants in the world from the late 1980s to early 2000s. He is an inductee of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame ...

, Jim Sharp, and

Tuff Hedeman Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman (born March 2, 1963) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding. He won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championship three times (1986, 1989 and ...

frequently rode the rodeo circuit together and were known as the "Wolfpack" during that time. Lambert retired from bull riding at the end of the 1996 PBR World Finals. While an active rider and also when retired, he served as the PBR’s vice president. When retired as a contestant, he also served as a PBR bull riding judge, and as the PBR’s livestock director.

Coaching career

In 2022, after retiring as the PBR’s Director of Livestock during the conclusion of that year’s PBR World Finals in May, Lambert became the head coach of the Texas Rattlers, one of eight bull riding teams of the PBR’s Team Series, which debuted that year. In late September 2022, the Texas Rattlers won the event at Thunder Days in

Ridgedale, Missouri Ridgedale is an unincorporated community in southern Taney County, Missouri, United States. It lies approximately ten miles south of Branson on U.S. Route 65, about one-half mile north of the Arkansas state line. The community is part of the Bra ...

; the hometown event of rival team, the Missouri Thunder. Two weeks later, the Rattlers won their own hometown event at Rattler Days in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. The very next weekend, the Rattlers won their third event in a row at Ridge Rider Days in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

; the hometown event of rival team, the Arizona Ridge Riders. The Rattlers ended up finishing in third place at the conclusion of the inaugural PBR Team Series season.

Honors

In 1996, Lambert was one of the inaugural inductees into the PBR's

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

. In 2002, Lambert was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. Inducted for his rodeo accomplishments, the museum features many of Lambert's personal items used during his rodeo career. In 2012, Lambert was inducted into the

Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame The Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas, dedicated to the sport of rodeo. History This hall of fame was founded by Johnny Boren. Also contributing to the foundation were a group of Belton, Texas, bu ...

. In 2020, Lambert was inducted into the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

’s

Rodeo Hall of Fame The Rodeo Hall of Fame was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls from around the world. The ha ...

In Media

His name ended up being used as the character name for

Sasha Mitchell Sasha Mitchell (born July 27, 1967) is an American actor best known for his television roles as James Beaumont on ''Dallas'' and Cody Lambert on '' Step by Step'' as well as playing David Sloane in three installments of the original Kickboxer fra ...

’s character on the television show Step By Step. In the

biographical drama, ''

8 Seconds ''8 Seconds'' is a 1994 American contemporary Western biographical drama film directed by John G. Avildsen. Its title refers to the length of time a bull rider is required to stay on for a ride to be scored. It stars Luke Perry as American rodeo le ...

'' (1994), Lambert was portrayed by Red Mitchell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Cody 1961 births Living people Bull riders Saddle bronc riders People from Bowie, Texas People from Taylor County, Texas Professional Bull Riders: Heroes and Legends