The San Angelo Rodeo in Texas, long anticipated by aficionados of bull riding, finally took place this past weekend. It was the 91st running of the event, and given its pedigree, spectators were eager to see who would emerge victorious from the mayhem. Fans, however, saw one of the event’s most spine-chilling moments on a specific ride, which caused the whole stadium to become quiet for a bit.

The event included a performance by Mateo Nunez, who was prepared to give it his all since he wanted to prove to the audience that, despite his youth, he is no amateur. When the bull bucked Nunez off, everything quickly went against him.

The moment the whole bull-riding arena went silent

In the tenth performance of the 91st annual San Angelo Rodeo, a substitute rider nearly paid a high price. After the Monahans Cowboy was knocked unconscious during his ride, the arena became quiet as medical professionals hurried to his side to offer help. But how might anything like this occur? As reported by San Angelo Live, when the bull realized the metal chute was gone, it went crazy and flung off Nunez, who fell to the ground unconscious when the bull’s horns struck his ribs. The cowboy recovered consciousness and walked out of the arena on his own, but the incident served as a sobering reminder of the dangers of the sport.

Matteo Nunez, now 22 years old, joined Carolyn McEnrue after the rodeo to discuss the ride that had everyone on the edge of their seats. Nunez appeared quite confident during the conversation, even after he passed out after his ride on the bull, Silent Hello.  In the interview, Nunez talked about the incident, saying, “Coming out I felt like I was sitting real good then next thing I know, my foots up in the air and I’m taking a hit to the ribs.” Despite this setback, Nunez is still eager to go on to the rest of the summer’s events.

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The rodeo went on even after seeing Nunez get knocked out in the arena.

The rodeo didn’t stop even after this horrifying incident

Josh Frost, the two-time defending champion of the San Angelo Cinch Shoot-Out, rode “Up the Ante” to an 88.0-point round and third place overall, earning him a spot in Friday night’s championship round. The Bareback Riders were another set of riders who proved superior to their rough-stock opponents.

South Dakota’s Andy Gingerich stepped it up a notch with an 87.5 on “River Bugs.” In the end, he rode the horse to a profit of $5,803. The 21-year-old rookie Luke Thrash was just as remarkable, scoring 88.5; he finished first, earning himself a trip to the championship and $7.5k.

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Even though rodeo seems like a lot of fun from the stands, Mateo Nunez proved that it can be quite deadly.