First-hand accounts may help Lane Frost's legacy grow the most in the rodeo community, but it lives on in tangible forms as well.

Officials at Cheyenne Frontier Days said there is no ceremony planned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Frost's death, but a 15-foot-tall statue -- by Casper artist Chris Navarro -- which was erected in 1993 stands at Frontier Days Park.

Frost is the focus of the 1994 biopic "8 Seconds" as well as a documentary titled "The Challenge of Champions."

He has been inducted into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame, the Frontier Days Hall of Fame, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Sports Museum and the Professional Bull Riders Ring of Honor.

But perhaps most importantly, after Frost's death, traveling partner Cody Lambert created the protective vest that all bull riders wear today.

"Cody Lambert, who I traveled with my whole career, he's the one that invented the protective vest for bull riders and I think it was a great addition to the sport," nine-time world champion Ty Murray said. "It doesn't hinder guys, but it protects them. Lane Frost made a helluva contribution to the sport, even after his death."

Frost's mother, Elsie, and many others believe Lane Frost would still be alive today had he been wearing such a vest.

And while his death didn't involve a head injury, four-time PRCA Rodeo Announcer of the Year Hadley Barrett believes it led to more young bull riders wearing helmets.

So Elsie Frost can, at the very least, take solace in the fact that her son's accident has helped save lives since it occurred.

"It seems like at every rodeo you go to, you can see where a vest or helmet helped," she told the Oklahoman last year. "It's hard to know what the injury would have been because they get up and walk off.

"What you do know is that is a lot better than them being carried out."

THOUGHTS ON "8 SECONDS"

The 1994 movie "8 Seconds" starring Luke Perry portrays the life story of Lane Frost, but it hasn't come without criticism from those closest to Frost.

Most of them understand that the movie strayed a bit from the facts for more entertainment value, but they are still bothered by some aspects of it -- particularly the way it portrayed the relationship between Lane and his father, Clyde.

And that's why, in an effort to show the completely true story, Frost's family and friends are supporting a documentary called "The Challenge of Champions."

"Basically what happened was his parents weren't really excited about the way the movie turned out," Tuff Hedeman said before a showing of the documentary on Thursday night at the PRCA Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo. "They thought it was more fiction than any of us thought it should be.

"So they made this documentary about Lane, who is arguably one of the best cowboys in the history of the sport."

The documentary also may answer the question they get the most: Was the movie a true story?

"I tell them the spirit of the movie is true," Ty Murray said. "You can't have it all tit-for-tat true in a two-hour movie when you're trying to portray a guy's life, but the spirit of the movie was pretty right on."

CHALLENGE OF CHAMPIONS

Lane Frost may be remembered as much or more for a championship outside the professional circuit as he is for being a world champion.

In 1988, stock contractor John Growney and Frost combined to begin the Challenge of Champions, a battle between the 1987 world-champion bull rider and Red Rock, a bull who went unridden in 309 attempts in professional competition.

Frost and Red Rock would square off in a best-of-seven event that covered three states.

The bull won the first two battles, Frost won the next three and Red Rock won the sixth round, setting up a winner-take-all finale on July 25, 1988, in Spanish Fork, Utah.

There, Frost rode Red Rock to win the Challenge of Champions.

No other bull rider ever successfully rode Red Rock as Growney completely retired the bull after the Challenge.

Red Rock attended the Frost memorial service at the NFR in 1989, was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame with Frost the next year and died in June of 1994.

TIMELINE

OCTOBER 12, 1963: Lane Frost is born in La Junta, Colo., the youngest of Clyde and Elsie's three children.

1965-66: At the age of 5 or 6, Frost begins riding dairy calves on his family's farm in Utah.

1973: Frost, at the age of 9, rides his first bull.

1974: The young cowboy wins first place in bareback bronc riding, second in tie-down roping and third in "calf bull riding" at a Little Buckaroos Rodeo in Uintah Basin, Utah.

1978: The Frost family moves from Utah to Lane, Okla., and Lane is later is crowned bull riding champion of the Small Fry Rodeo Association.

1980: Frost wins the bull riding championship of the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association and is runner-up at the National High School Finals Rodeo.

1981: Frost retains his OYRA title and wins the NFSFR in Douglas.

1982: Frost wins his third OYRA championship and is also champion of the American Junior Rodeo Association and the first Youth National Finals.

1983: Frost earns his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association permit and finishes 16th in the world standings, one spot away from a trip to the National Finals Rodeo.

1984: The 21-year-old makes his first NFR and finishes ninth in the world standings.

1985: Frost marries Kellie Kyle and finishes third in the world.

1986: Frost, looking to become the first bull rider to ride all 10 bulls at the NFR, draws Red Rock in the 10th round, is bucked off and finishes third in the world again.

1987: The 24-year-old earns his first and only world championship by riding eight of 10 bulls at the NFR.

1988: Frost takes part in the Challenge of Champions, a matchup with Red Rock, an unridden bull that was retired in 1987, and wins the best-of-seven matchup 4-3 before finishing third in the world.

JULY 30, 1989: Lane Frost dies after being struck by the bull Takin' Care of Business after making the eight-second whistle on the final day of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

DECEMBER 1989: Frost earns the Coors Favorite Cowboy award posthumously at the NFR and his friend and traveling partner Tuff Hedeman wins the world championship, riding his final bull an extra eight seconds in honor of the fallen cowboy.

AUGUST 1990: Frost becomes the youngest cowboy ever inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

JULY 24, 1993: A memorial sculpture by Casper artist Chris Navarro is erected and dedicated to Lane Frost at Cheyenne Frontier Days Park.

1994: The movie "8 Seconds," a biopic meant to portray Lane Frost's life story, is released.

JULY 30, 1999: Cheyenne Frontier Days hosts a 10-year tribute to Frost's death at its afternoon rodeo.

JULY 30, 2009: Twenty years will have passed since the most infamous death inside the rodeo arena and Frost's legacy lives on, even among today's young cowboys who never met him.

CFD TRACKER

EVENT DATES: Cheyenne Frontier Days opens July 17 and closes July 26, with certain areas of the park open a few days prior to the event.

GRAND DADDY OF 'EM ALL: The CFD Rodeo runs from July 18-26 with daily performances beginning at 12:45 p.m.

The Professional Bull Riders event takes place July 20-21 at 8 p.m.

REMEMBERING FROST: Officials say there is nothing currently planned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Lane Frost's death, but Casper artist Chris Navarro's statue still stands at CFD Park.

ON THE WEB: For a full schedule of events, visit www.cfdrodeo.com.