International Finals Rodeo Preview

By Ted Harbin
Posted Wednesday, January 16, 2008

State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City has a well-established rodeo history.

It was home to the National Finals Rodeo for several years when the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association first moved its championship to the Sooner State capital in the 1960s. It’s where Freckles Brown rode Tornado. It’s where Chris LeDoux won his bareback riding world title. It’s where Roy Duvall won all three of his steer wrestling gold buckles.

And for all but two years in the past decade, it’s where the top contestants in the International Professional Rodeo Association have played for their titles. It’s where bulldogger Ronnie Fields won the first of three IPRA championships.

And it’s where bull rider Nathan Tull hopes to fulfill his rodeo dreams.

“I’ve got a $5,000 lead right now, but with the rounds paying about $2,500 and the average paying about $4,000-something, it’s not impossible for someone to catch me,” said Tull of Shawnee, Okla., who is sponsored by Extreme Sports Medics, Humps N’ Horns Bull Riding News, Rooster’s Café and usrodeosupply.com.

Tull has $19,718 in IPRA earnings this year, followed by Troy Carnes of Adrian, Mich., who is No. 2 with $14,739. The four-round IFR begins at 7:30 p.m. Central time Thursday. It continues at 7:30 Friday night and will have two performances Saturday, at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

“The year started out really good,” said Tull, 28. “We had the Longhorn series the first of the year, and those are all big rodeos in the IPRA. I won the first two and placed high in the first three or four. That put me in the lead in the standings from the beginning.”

This marks the third year he has qualified for the IFR. Two seasons ago, he was the association’s top bull-riding rookie, also qualifying for the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in the PRCA. In 2007, he focused on the IPRA season, all the while trying to establish himself in the lower-tier events of the Professional Bull Riders Association.

“I went to 40-something IPRA rodeos this year, and if I wasn’t going to a rodeo, I was going to a PBR usually,” Tull said. “For the last three years, I haven’t had a job. I try to pay my bills riding bulls, so I don’t take too many weekends off.”

He considers the keys to his success his traveling partners and his sponsors, all of which help him up and down the rodeo trail.

“You’ve got to have good people that you travel with that are dependable and that are riding good to keep you on that roll,” he said. “Sponsorship is a huge deal. Nobody can come out ahead and pay some bills trying to rodeo without sponsors. I’ve spent the last couple of years trying to do everything I can to take care of that.”

Divorced with two young girls, Tull tries to spend as much time as possible with Natalie, 8, and Audra, 5, even taking the children on the rodeo road when possible.

“It’s a struggle,” he said. “This year I bought a conversion van with a bed in the back and a TV in it. It’s pretty bad on gas, and I don’t really like to take it, but when the kids are with me and I’ve got some rodeos I can’t miss, we take the van.”

He lives and breathes for his girls, but his passion also involves riding bucking bovines. And while the competitive nature that is sports shines, it’s also a way to make ends meet, and he hopes to take care of business.

“There are two or three bull-riding associations that pay really well,” Tull said. “That’s where the top guys go, where everyone goes that’s serious about it. The IPRA’s great, and I’ve got some of my best friends because of the IPRA. It’s the most fun I’ve had rodeoing.

“It’s also a business, and I’ve got to continue moving up the ladder to be successful.”

The first step is winning the IPRA title this weekend.