Miller Lite Bull BlowOut-Burelle, Tuckness take top prize on Night 1

By Ted Harbin
Posted Friday, August 22, 2008

DENTON, Texas - There’s something special when watching quality teams at work.

Whether it’s the Dallas Cowboys or the 1980s’ Los Angeles Lakers, something magical happens in the sports arena.

On Thursday night during the first performance of the Miller Lite Bull Blowout Professional Bullfighters Tour event at the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo, Andy Burelle and Dusty Tuckness showed the style that has made them one of the top teams in protection bullfight.

“Dusty and I work together like we’re reading each other’s minds,” said Burelle, 31, of Ardmore, Okla., who, with Tuckness, represents Team Wells Fargo Bank in this event, the longest running protection-bullfighting competition. “He’s a 21-year-old version of me.”

The contest features bullfighters performing their jobs in bull-riding protection, serving as cowboy lifesavers as they use their athletic skills to help draw the bucking bulls’ attention away from the fallen rider. They are judged on their positioning, aggressiveness and other factors that make up a quality performance.

“This definitely takes the pressure off,” Burelle said, referring to the PBF Tour’s race for the world championship. “We couldn’t ask for a better draw.”

Burelle and Tuckness scored 153 points and finished just two points ahead of defending champions, Ross Hill of Muscle Shoals, Ala., and Lance McIlvain of Arlington, Texas. The latter is a second-generation bullfighter whose family has been in the business for a number of years – Frank McIlvain Sr. has spent 46 years with the Mesquite Championship Rodeo.

But when 1,800 pounds of push came to shove, Burelle and Tuckness were firing on all cylinders in a contest that saw less than 20 points separating first and sixth.

“It always feels good when you can draw well and compete good,” said Tuckness, also a second-generation bullfighter who lives in Meeteetse, Wyo. “This is going to be tough competition over the next two days, and we don’t need to worry about placing. That might be the worst thing we can do. We just need to go out and do our jobs.”

And that’s where the teamwork comes into play, especially since there are two more nights of competition, which kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

“Andy and I started working together, and we’ve bonded so well,” Tuckness said. We don’t have to look at one another to know where the other’s going to be. We just know. We have a good chemistry for each other.”

First performance, Thursday, Aug. 21: 1. Team Wells Fargo Bank, Andy Burelle, Ardmore, Okla./Dusty Tuckness, Meeteetse, Wyo., 153 points, $800; 2. Team Miller Lite, Ross Hill, Muscle Shoals, Ala./Lance McIlvain, Arlington, Texas, 151, $600; 3. Team Daisy, Jay Brewer, Graham, Texas/Steve Wangler, Plainview, Neb., 141, $400; 4/5. Team Trailer Storage, Sam Gress, Hutchinson, Kan./Wacey Munsell, Ulysses, Kan., and Team Rudy’s Bar-B-Que, Toby Inman, Davis Junction, Ill./Dave Jantzi, Sugarcreek, Ohio, 135, $100; 6. Team Ag-Power John Deere, Brian Flanders, Amarillo, Texas/Cole Otts, Shamrock, Texas, 134; 7. Team Hooters, Joe Butler, Stillwater, Okla./Chad Dowdy, Bristow, Okla., 120; 8. Team First United Bank, Brandon Brazier, Louisiana, Mo./Joe Garretson, Springfield, Mo., 109.