A family in Texas is mourning the loss of their son and brother after the teenager died from injuries related to being dragged by a horse. He was only 18, and preparing to start college when the incident happened. The situation was an accident, but the loss is just as devastating.
The boy had a deep love of his Texas roots and had been participating in rodeos and working with horses in other ways for most of his life. He had been awarded a rodeo scholarship for college and was described as "dedicated."
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The young man's death was a freak accident.
Ace Patton Ashford was a "most cherished young member" of his community in Lott, Texas. The 18-year-old was tending to a sick calf when a nearby horse got "spooked," according to local news outlet KWTX.
"Somehow, the man’s leg got tangled and the horse [dragged] him quite a distance in an open field," the Lott Volunteer Fire Department told KWTX.
When Ashford was airlifted to a hospital, he was still breathing and had a pulse. But the first responders said he was in "bad shape" before he died as a result of his injuries.
He was an accomplished roper and involved in rodeo.
Ashford began roping when he was 4 years old. He had recently graduated from Rosebud-Lott High School, and was preparing to participate in rodeo competitions for Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas, this fall.
"He was about as pure as they get," another member of the rodeo community, Cody Snow, told The Team Roping Journal. "He was gold. He just started coming up and roping with Ross and I all the time now that he’s 18. We’ve got to be around him a lot the last year, and he’s been roping good. He’s got a lot of try, and he’s just a good dude."
Ashford was so loved by his community.
"That’s who you want your son to grow up to be," Marcus Becerra told The Team Roping Journal. "That’s why it hurt quite a bit. Everybody knows how good a kid he was, how cordial he was, how respectful he was. He was good with horses, he had manners and he was a real great kid. Flagging, you meet these kids when they’re young, and you get to know them. You see from the time they’re little, and you get to watch them win and you pull for them."
Another community member called him an "old man," adding "From the time I spent with him, he didn’t talk a lot, and he didn’t bother nobody. He’d have rather been out there doctoring yearlings than going to a roping sometimes. He was a good kid. It’s so hard to put into words how he was."
It is clear that Ashford was deeply loved by his family as well.
An obituary for the teen stated, "Ace loved the cowboy way of life and was the true definition of a hard-working country boy."
"Ace loved spending his time in the great outdoors hunting, rodeoing, or just hanging out with his buddies. Ace had a heart of gold and was loved by everyone he knew. Ace never met a stranger, and he had an old soul. He would stop at nothing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. Ace will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him."
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His passing will leave a hole in many hearts.
"If you knew Ace Ashford, you knew an amazing and humble young man," a Facebook post for his father Troy Ashford's business read. "Ace—our heart hurts and we will never truly understand why, but we know you are flying high with the greatest man possible and are no longer in pain. We will always love you!"
