Larry Mahan met Ty Murray when Murray was just 12-years-old competing at the National Little Britches Finals. Mahan offered his help to Murray, who at first thought it was a joke, and it turned out to be the beginning of a once in a lifetime mentorship that would turn into a once in a lifetime friendship.
A summer at Mahan’s ranch was an opportunity that Murray would not miss. There was no practicing, instead he broke colts, flew airplanes and gave speeches.
Murray credits Mahan with teaching him the importance of trying to grow the sport of rodeo and more. The two would stay in touch and visit each other for the rest of Mahan’s life.
“It felt like we had a bond, you know, that probably most people don’t have the same ideas that him and I did because of what we’ve done,” Murray said.
Mahan set the benchmark and was the inspiration and drive for Murray’s career from early on.
“When you ride all three events you get a lot of chances to see how bad you want to do this,” Murray said. “And so having that goal and having that benchmark for myself, that’s something that always brought me back.”