Miller Lite Bull BlowOut - Cowboy lifesavers take job, competition seriously

By Ted Harbi
Posted Friday, August 22, 2008

DENTON, Texas – What does it take to save a man’s life?

To do it right, it takes putting one’s self in the middle of danger so everybody escapes harm’s way. Firefighters will tell you that.

So will professional bullfighters, to practice their trade during bull-riding events across the country. They throw their bodies in the fray, as it were, in order to keep fallen cowboys from the dangers that lurk when nearly 2,000 pounds of bucking beast is whirling all around them.

“Nothing makes you feel better than when you save a guy when he’s in trouble,” said Joe Butler of Stillwater, Okla., one of the top protection bullfighters in the country who will be part of the Professional Bullfighters’ event at the Miller Lite Bull BlowOut at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday at the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo in Denton.

The bullfights showcase the work of some of the greatest athletes involved in rodeo and bull-riding. The cowboys are judged on how well they do their jobs in protecting the bull riders, their positioning and their aggressiveness while battling the bucking bovines.

“With cowboy protection, you’re laying it on the line for another person,” said Chad Dowdy of Bristow, Okla. “There’s a lot of glory in that. There’s no greater feeling than stepping in front of a bull and be able to save someone’s life.”

There will be eight two-man teams that are part of the longest-running protection bullfight in the country. Now in its 15th year, the Miller Lite Bull BlowOut has been a major player in the development of bullfighters’ skills in the competition arena.

Typically, these cowboy lifesavers work on a contract basis, hired hands who work rodeos and bull-ridings for a guaranteed paycheck. In the PBF Tour, they not only pay an entry fee in order to fight bulls, they also must place high enough to earn their paycheck, just like the cowboys who work other rodeo events.

“It’s just a feeling that I get doing it that’s unexplainable,” said Dusty Tuckness of Apache, Okla. “Yeah, there’s an adrenaline rush, but there’s more. There’s trying to manhandle a best that weighs anywhere from 1,200 to 2,000 pounds, conquering the beast and trying to make it look like an art.”

The defending Miller Lite Bull BlowOut championship team is Lance McIlvain of nearby Arlington, Texas, and Ross Hill of Muscle Shoals, Ala. They just finished second at the Colby Yates Challenge in Sulphur Springs, Texas, last weekend.

“I love rodeo, and I love fighting bulls and the feeling you get from making a good save,” said McIlvain, who comes from a family of bullfighters. “You’re only in the arena for about two hours a weekend, so it’s about the people you meet and the family you establish.”