Ace Ashford, 18, of Lott, Texas, died Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in a horse accident while day working.
Born Feb. 1, 2006, Ace was the son of Troy Ashford and Jamie Ashford of Lott. Already an accomplished roper, Ace was the 2023 Riata Buckle #10.5 Jr. Champion Header with Jade Philipp and 2024 Patriot #11.5 All Ages Champion Header with Ryder Davis. He attended Rosebud-Lott High School and was set to rodeo for Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas, this fall.
Ace is the younger brother of NFR heeler Ross Ashford, who currently sits 15th in the PRCA world standings with $78,391.44 won.
"He was about as pure as they get," NFR Header Cody Snow said about Ace. "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.
"He came to the house Tuesday and we roped before we went to Lovington—him and his dad. They ate dinner and went home, and we got to spend one last night with him. He looked up to Ross, and he loved being around him. I'm glad he got to see him before we left."
"He's like an old man," said John Philipp, father of Ace's high school rodeo and Riata partner, Jade. "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. At the high school rodeos, he'd be the kid who pushed everybody's steers."
Ace was coming off a banner year in the arena, having placed all over Arizona during Vegas Week in December 2023, followed up with a win in the warm-up at the World Youth Team Roping Championship hosted by Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp in March, as well as at The Patriot and Philipp Ranch just at the end of July.
"That's who you want your son to grow up to be," said flagger Marcus Becerra, who won the #11.5 Big Gamble in Wickenburg with Ace. "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.
"That kid grew up to be a really good kid, and his family is golden. I started roping with him when he was a 4 and, as he got older and stronger, his horsemanship got better."
Big brother Ross just won Dodge City, Kansas, and moved into the Top 15 in the world as of Monday morning Aug. 12. He caught a flight home from Idaho immediately upon hearing the news, leaving his horses with partner Coy Rahlmann.
Rahlmann picked up NFR tie-down roper and Cinch Timed Event Championship contestant Brushton Minton at Caldwell, Idaho, Monday, getting two steers down in 13.3 seconds to be fifth in the average as of Aug. 13. Rahlmann will rope with Clayton Hass in Gooding, Idaho, with Ross planning to return for Kennewick, Washington.
