Video shows bull rider Cody Hooks being thrown off the raging bull three seconds after joining a Texas rodeo arena.
Hooks was knocked unconscious and found on the dirt near the gate, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Bullfighters tried to calm the agitated bull, as seen in a video Hooks posted on Instagram on Feb. 13.
Landis Hooks jumped on his son and covered his body, shielding him from the bull, seven seconds after Hooks was slammed onto the arena floor.
The charging bull slammed into the dad as he protected his son a split second later, according to the video. The audience can be heard collectively gasping in shock.
“You see that cowboy lay his life over the top,” an announcer is heard saying.
Hooks said he is “not one to post (a video) falling off,” but he felt compelled to thank his dad and the bullfighters in Belton.
After finishing his rookie season in 2021, the 18-year-old was competing in a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PCRA) event at the Bell County Exposition Center, according to KXXV.
“Could’ve been a hella lot worse,” Hooks wrote in his video caption.
