in all three riding events, that piqued his interest. He wanted to meet someone who was competing like he had done. Mahan called Murray to invite him to his place in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They spent that summer flying around the West in Mahan's plane participating in several different activities. Murray soon began a weightlifting program. That was when Murray started participating in gymnastics. Later Murray was mentored by the world champion, who had won more National Finals Rodeo (NFR) first place "All Around Cowboy" championships than anyone in history. When Murray was in third grade, his teacher passed out a paper that asked students, "If you could do anything in your life, what would it be?" Murray immediately wrote out, "I want to beat Larry Mahan's record." Career High school rodeo In 1987, he won the Arizona National High School Rodeo Association all-around championship. He tied with Dennis Schmidt for the bareback riding championship. This helped Arizona win the team national title, which it had not won in 12 years. He competed in every roughstock event and in cutting. He also won the National High School Rodeo Association all-around championship. College and 1988 PRCA season In 1987, he enrolled in the fall semester of Odessa College, a two-year school in Odessa, Texas. The school's proximity to some nearby PRCA rodeos was one of the deciding factors. In 1988, at 18 years old, he was old enough to join the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), which he did promptly. Murray was set on trying for a world championship immediately. The fact that he could attend school and compete simultaneously was another deciding factor. He attended school and competed simultaneously in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, and the PRCA. In Murray's first official year on the PRCA, he traveled with rodeo cowboy Cody Lambert, who rode bulls and saddle bronc. Before Murray, Lambert traveled with Tuff Hedeman, Jim Sharp, and Lane Frost. Now Lambert could travel with Murray for saddle bronc riding, then they met up with the other guys for bull riding. Murray spent the season gaining experience with Cody's help. When the season end was near, he was in the lead for Rookie of the Year. However, his riding was suffering some due to fatigue as he was not used to pro rodeo. At the Calgary Stampede, a bull named First Blood threw him headfirst into the dirt. Lambert