DENTON, Texas – Leave it to Dusty Tuckness and Andy Burelle to set the standard for the Miller Light Blowout Professional Bullfighters competition.
The tandem of cowboy lifesavers became the first team in the 15-year history of the event to sweep all three rounds and dominate the competition, winning again Saturday night during the final performance in the Miller Lite Arena at the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo.
“That was simply impressive,” said Jim McLain, president of the PBF tour, which produces and sanctions the protection-bullfighting competition. “I have never seen that happen in a three-day event like this. When you’ve got the caliber of bullfighters that we have here, any of them can come in here and win on any day and in any pen of bulls.
“So to see these two guys do that in this field, it’s amazing.”
Representing Team Wells Fargo Bank, Tuckness and Burelle – of Meeteetse, Wyo., and Ardmore, Okla., respectively – closed out the competition with a 127-point, third-round effort, 11 points better than second-place Team First United Bank, Brandon Brazier of Louisana, Mo., and Joe Garretson of Springfield, Mo.
Tuckness and Burelle also finished the weekend with 437 points, 45 points better than second-place Team Rudy’s Bar-B-Q, Toby Inman of Davis Junction, Ill., and Dave Jantzi of Sugarcreek, Ohio.
In addition, Tuckness was named the event’s most valuable player, a distinction voted on by his peer bullfighters.
“They’re just strong all the time,” said Inman, 25, a four-year veteran. “Dusty just goes out and tackles those bulls, but they’re both strong, they’re both aggressive. That’s what makes them a good team.”
Unlike freestyle bullfighting, where the arena is set up with one cowboy against one animal, protection bullfighting is about getting a bull’s attention away from the bull rider so he can escape unharmed. A key element in the judging is how aggressive the bullfighters are, and getting their hands on the bull is the best way to divert the animal’s attention.
“Much of our system is getting a hold of the animal and getting control of the animal,” McLain said. “For them to grab every single bull they draw over four nights is an impressive feat.”
MILLER LITE BULL BLOWOUT ROFESSIONAL BULLFIGHTERS
Third performance, Saturday, Aug. 23: 1. Team Wells Fargo Bank, Andy Burelle, Ardmore, Okla./Dusty Tuckness, Meeteetse, Wyo., 127 points, $800 each; 2. Team First United Bank, Brandon Brazier, Louisiana, Mo./Joe Garretson, Springfield, Mo., 116, $600 each; 3. Team Trailer Storage, Sam Gress, Hutchinson, Kan./Wacey Munsell, Ulysses, Kan., 107, $400 each; 4. Team Rudy’s Bar-B-Q, Toby Inman, Davis Junction, Ill./Dave Jantzi, Sugarcreek, Ohio, 106, $200 each; 5. Team Hooters, Joe Butler, Stillwater, Okla., 105; 6. Team Daisy, Kevin Pitts, Burleson, Texas/Jay Brewer, Graham, Texas, 102; 7. Team Miller Lite, Ross Hill, Muscle Shoals, Ala./Lance McIlvain, Arlington, Texas, 93; 8. Team Ag-Power John Deere, Brian Flanders, Amarillo, Texas/Cole Otts, Shamrock, Texas, 87.
Final standings: 1.Team Wells Fargo Bank, Burelle/Tuckness, 437; 2. Team Rudy’s Bar-B-Q, Inman/Jantzi, 392; 3. Team Daisy, Pitts/Brewer, 380; 4. Team Miller Lite, Hill/McIlvain, 377; 5. Team Trailer Storage, Gress/Munsell, 375; 6. Team Hooters, Butler/Dowdy, 348; 7. Team First United Bank, Brazier/Garretson, 342; 8. Team Ag-Power John Deere, Flanders/Otts, 338.
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