Behind the Chutes

Stories from the research, interviews, and writing behind

The Official Biography of Bodacious: Master of Disaster—

and the people who lived it.

Tammy Maywald 9/4/26 Tammy Maywald 9/4/26

After the Last Gate

Bodacious retired as the most feared bull in rodeo, but his influence did not end when the last gate closed. He became a living legend who helped bring the American bucking bull into the conversation about great animal athletes.

Tammy Maywald 8/30/26 Tammy Maywald 8/30/26

The Chapter I Didn’t Know the Book Needed

I thought I had finished writing the bull riders’ chapters. Then James White gave me the story that revealed what Bodacious had become: not merely a bull in the draw, but the bull—the one whose name no longer needed to be said.

Tammy Maywald 8/6/26 Tammy Maywald 8/6/26

This Story Can’t Be Real

On October 1, 2023, I heard a story about Bodacious that sounded too extraordinary to be true. One photograph, one question, and an unexpected trip to the Andrews Ranch changed everything.