BLUF: A professional rodeo athlete and his horse were tragically killed by a lightning strike in Nebraska while he was checking on cattle. Terrel Vineyard, a respected roper, leaves behind a wife and three daughters. A fundraiser has been set up to support his family.
A professional rodeo athlete named Terrel Vineyard and his horse, Dose, were struck and killed by lightning while he was checking on cattle in a rural area of Nebraska. Terrel, a married father of three, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Garden County Attorney’s Office confirmed that the cause of death was a lightning strike. Terrel was an accomplished calf and team roper who had qualified for the World Series of Team Roping in Las Vegas multiple times. The Wyoming Rodeo Association expressed their condolences to the Vineyard family and highlighted the tight-knit nature of the rodeo community. Terrel’s wife, Stacey, shared her gratitude for the support they have received and announced that a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to financially assist their family. The National Lightning Safety Council reported that Terrel’s death is the sixth lightning-related fatality in the United States in 2023.