Nebraska rodeo athlete and horse he was riding die after being struck by lightning

A rodeo athlete and his horse died last week when the two were struck by lightning.

The man was checking on cattle in a rural part of the US state of Nebraska when the incident happened, according to officials.

Terrel Vineyard, 27, was on horseback when he was struck on Wednesday 21 June, the Garden County attorney’s office said in a statement.

Officials received a call about the strike and arrived at the scene shortly after 2pm where they found Mr Vineyard dead.

An autopsy found he had been struck by lightning.

Mr Vineyard was one of six fatalities caused by lightning strikes this year, according to the National Lightning Safety Council.

In a Facebook post, Mr Vineyard’s wife Stacey thanked the community for their support following her husband’s death.

A GoFundMe page set up in his memory states Mr Vineyard bought Dose, the horse he was riding, a few years ago.

“Terrel and Dose left for greener pastures together – Terrel with his rope in hand,” the page added.