Man, you won’t believe the day I had yesterday. It all started when I decided to dig into this whole Ace Ashford thing. I’d heard the name floating around, you know, in those rodeo circles and whatnot. Tragic story, really. Young kid, 18 years old, had a whole life ahead of him. So, I got to work.
First thing I did was just a basic search. Wanted to get the lay of the land, figure out who this Ace Ashford was, beyond the headlines. Turns out, he was from Lott, Texas. A real cowboy, through and through. Loved day working, which, if you don’t know, is basically helping out on ranches and stuff.
Digging Deeper
So, I started digging deeper. Found out he was born on February 1, 2006. This kid was practically a baby, man. Anyway, I kept going. I found out that Ace was tending to a sick calf when a nearby horse got spooked, and that’s what caused the accident. August 12, 2024, that’s the day he died. Just like that, gone.
The Community Reacts
Then I started looking into how people were reacting. His girlfriend, Sydney Boatright, she wrote this heartbreaking tribute to him. Called him an “old soul.” You could tell they were close. It wasn’t just her, though. The whole community was shaken up. I mean, this kid was loved. They called him a “cherished young member” of the community. You don’t just throw words like that around, you know?
Putting the Pieces Together
After that, I just tried to piece it all together. I read articles, looked at social media posts, even found a few mentions of him in some rodeo publications. There was this one story about a steer, number 27, that Bobby Joe Hill and Troy Ashford told. I think Troy might be Ace’s dad, but I’m not 100% on that.
My Thoughts
Honestly, the whole thing just got to me. It’s one thing to read about a tragedy, but it’s another to really dive into it, to see the impact it had on people’s lives. I mean, here was this young guy, full of life, doing what he loved, and then, in an instant, it’s all over. It makes you think, you know? About life, about how fragile it all is. It also makes you realize that behind every news story, there are real people, with families and friends who are hurting.
In the end, I just felt this overwhelming sadness.
- I started the day wanting to learn about Ace Ashford.
- I found out about his life, his passion for rodeo, and his tragic accident.
- I saw the outpouring of grief from his girlfriend, his community, and the rodeo world.
- I ended the day feeling a deep sense of loss for a young life cut short.
It was a tough one, for sure. But I think it’s important to remember these stories, to remember the people behind the headlines. That’s what I tried to do, anyway. And I hope, in some small way, I did Ace Ashford’s story justice.
