A Rodeo athlete from Nebraska and his horse have both died after being struck by lightning in what is being referred to as a freak accident

Terrel Vineyard and his horse, Dose, passed away tragically on the afternoon of June 21 near the small town of Oshkosh, Nebraska.

The Lightning Safety Council detailed that the 27-year-old had been checking on his cattle with Dose when the pair were struck by lightning. Local authorities received a call at approximately 2pm and subsequently showed up to the scene, where both Terrel and Dose were pronounced dead.

The pro roper’s cause of death was officially listed as lightning strike, and is the sixth person reported to have died by lightning in the US this year.

According to the US National Weather Service, only around 10% of lightning strikes are fatal, with 90% of people struck by lightning being left with varying degrees of disability.

Being struck by lightning can cause a cardiac arrest, although some fatalities occur several days after the incident if the person has been resuscitated but is suffering from irreversible brain damage.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to aid Terrel’s new wife Stacey and her three daughters – Maddie, Aubree, and Blayke – to whom Terrel was stepfather.

The information on the page – which has reached over 13,000 of its 20,000 goal – describes the Nebraska native as “an amazing young man” who was “very important” to his local community.

“Terrel was great at making friends. Anywhere he was. He maintained his first friendships and made a million more along the way. He had success in the arena, but he was most proud of the friendships he made. To know Terrel was to love Terrel,” the heartwarming description read.

Terrel was an accomplished rodeo athlete all throughout junior high school and college, where he and his horse Cowboy won American Quarter Horse Association Horse of the Year three times. The dynamic duo also qualified for Junior High National Rodeo Finals in Gallup, New Mexico twice in both team roping and ribbon roping.

Terrel was also able to attend the Cheyenne campus of Laramie County Community College on a full rodeo scholarship.

In Fall of 2020 Terrel connected with Stacey, becoming a father figure to her three little girls. The couple started a cattle herd together, and married privately with their daughters in Colorado earlier this year. They had been preparing for their August wedding reception when Terrel was killed.

Cowboy State Daily detailed how Stacey took to Facebook to post a heartbreaking tribute to her late husband, writing: “We were perfect for one another. You showed me love, you adored me and made me feel like the most beautiful woman. Our time was short, so short. … The girls and I are going to miss you so damn much.”

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Terrel Vineyard at this difficult time.