J.W. Hart began riding calves at the age of four and won his first buckle soon after. “I think I was about five when I won my first buckle. Growing up, I had two role models—my dad and Lane Frost. I always thought my dad was the toughest guy in the world. When he told me how to ride, I thought there was a few things he was wrong about, but I listened. Then, Lane Frost helped me and told me the same things, so I realized my dad was right.” Hart received lessons from legendary bull rider Lane Frost on several occasions. “You know I probably met him about four or five times, and every time after that when I saw him at a rodeo, he always came up to me and remembered my name. That left quite a impression,” recalls Hart. Hart has been competing in the PBR for 12 years. In that span of time he set a record for competing in the most consecutive events —197 — earning him the nickname “Ironman.” “The past two years I’ve been struggling with groin injuries and to never miss an event—it’s been hard. I mean it’s one thing to take off a couple of months and not go anywhere when there isn’t any bull riding events. But, when you’re not going anywhere and there’s bull ridings, it bothers you.” Hart jokes about the sibling rivalry between him and brother Cody Hart. “When it comes to competing, we pull for each other. But there’s no one I’d rather beat than him, and there’s no one he’d rather beat than me.” This fan favorite was chosen to host Country Music Television’s (CMT) countdown of the top twenty cowboy songs which debuted in July of 2005. Hart is also participating in an exciting new documentary series for TLC called BULL RIDERS. BULL RIDERS will follow three of the PBR’s top riders (young contender Brendon Clark, JW “Ironman” Hart, and two-time World Champion Adriano Moraes) as they live their lives at home and hit the road to compete in the PBR’s elite Built Ford Tough Series events.
About J.W.
