July 8 episode of RFD-TV show offers a special surprise for fans, soldiers
In a bull riding and reality TV career that has seen him racing around the world, Cord McCoy has been part of hundreds of amazing things.
He did it again in early June during the J.W. Hart PBR Challenge in Decatur, Texas; more importantly, cameras were rolling, and the excitement was captured for his regular weekly viewers of “The Ride with Cord McCoy,” set to air at 1 and 11 p.m. Eastern time Monday, July 8, on RFD-TV.
“That’s pretty awesome,” said McCoy, the host of the show and a cowboy who has numerous qualifications to the PBR’s Built Ford Tough World Finals. “The J.W. Hart Invitational is something I make sure and put on my schedule every year. It’s not just because J.W. is my friend, but the crowds that are there are amazing, and so is what they put together, especially this year being their 10th anniversary.
“With what they’re doing there and what they’re showing, it’s what America’s all about.”
The show opens with McCoy working around the ranch he has with his wife, Sara, near Tupelo, Okla., as the pair load bulls into the trailer to haul on the nearly three-hour drive to Decatur – in addition to the event serving as a bull riding competition for several of the top cowboys in the game, the Hart Challenge also is a contest featuring the animal athletes that are rising stars in bull riding, too.
“Not only does J.W. bring the rankest bulls in the world and have a good payout for the bull riders, he always gives back,” McCoy said in the episode. “The bulls are in competition for themselves.
“I’ll go from loading out bulls to riding them. I’ll be working both ends of the bull riding.”
In fact, three of McCoy’s calves are shown in the competition prior to watching the cowboy attempt his ride.
“I get more nervous with these baby calves bucking than I do myself,” he said on the show.
Those are the two sides of the business for McCoy, who focuses on raising horses and bucking bulls. Now a television show host, he visited with some of the key players from this year’s Hart Challenge, including event organizers and Sgt. Jeremy Frost, a U.S. Army soldier who was injured – the video shows the prosthetic that now serves as Frost’s lower left leg.
During the Hart Challenge, five soldiers were recognized and rewarded for their service and their sacrifices. “The Ride” cameras caught the touching presentation that offers grand surprises for all.
“We sat down in the bleachers before the show, and I learned more about who he is and what he’s been through,” McCoy said, noting that Frost was the guiding force behind the generous gesture from the Wise County Challenge Charities. “He’s been in those guys shoes that are fighting for our country. He knows what this means to those guys. It’ll bring tears to your eyes.”
According to an Internet search, Frost was injured when he stepped on a bomb on July 6, 2012. He lost his left leg below the knee, suffered brain injuries, and his right leg and hip were shattered. What he was part of with the charitable organization is a powerful display of something he’s seen since he returned home.
“It shows guys like myself that the country truly does care about you,” Frost said on the show. “It reminds you that you can live.”
McCoy said he was more than inspired.
“He didn’t let that faze him one bit,” McCoy said. “I ran into him later that night, and he had a pair of jeans on and a Western shirt, and you would’ve never known he was using a prosthetic. He’s a cool guy. After you meet a guy like that, and it stokes your fire a little bit.”
And the nugget McCoy likes so much about the episode is that viewers will get to see another side to Hart, a bull rider known as “The Ironman” for his toughness and ability to weather whatever injuries he faced in order to compete at 197 consecutive Built Ford Tough Series Events. Hart’s tenacity and aggressiveness are well known in the PBR, where he is a Ring of Honor recipient.
“I thought the show was great, but it’s hard to fit the whole experience into one episode,” McCoy said. “It gives a pretty neat overview of the event, but it also shows the heart that J.W. has.
“I knew that a long time before because I got to travel with J.W. a few times. He’s done some really cool things and would just as soon not let anybody know about it.”
The secret will be revealed July 8 on “The Ride with Cord McCoy.”