2020 Media Guide - Barrelmen and Bullfighters

2019 Wrangler NFR Personnel DustyTuckness –Bullfighter They say the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo gets in your blood. After 11 consecutive years (2009-2019) in the Thomas & Mack Center, Dusty Tuckness is thoroughly infected with Wrangler NFR fever.

“One of my goals since I was a kid has always been to go to the Finals, and another is to beat the records of other bullfighters who have gone there. To go once is an achievement, but to go 12 times like Darrell Diefenbach or 14 times like Joe Baumgartner (13 consecutive, 14 overall), that’s the ultimate goal. I want to push forward and get myself into their category.” But Tuckness is driven by more than competitive fire. “I try to be as consistent as I can, domy job day-in and day-out, and hope that

will lead to a good outcome at the end of the year. Every year I get to go back, it means I’ve been consistent and the bull riders trust me and want to see me in the arena, so to keep going back is a real honor.” Tuckness always knows going in that he’ll get a little beaten up at theWrangler NFR, but it’s all part of the sport as far as he’s concerned. “Rodeo is a game where there’s not a set pattern,” Tuckness said. “When guys are riding for world championships, they tend to hang on a little longer, and that can put them in a more hazardous spot when they hit the ground. And some of the new bulls have some hook to them. But I always go in thinking that every bull is the meanest one around, because I want to be on guard and always ready to take the shot for the cowboy if needed.”

Evan Allard – Bullfighter Although bullfighter Evan Allard didn’t grow up in a family that rodeoed, every time he attended a local rodeo as a kid, he was captivated by the barrelmen and bullfighters in the arena. From their distinct baggies, colorful face paint and barrel to give the bull an alternate target after the bull ride, Allard viewed them as more than just personnel in the arena. “I love fighting bulls and I think what we do as bullfighters and cowboy protectors is a very important job, but so is entertaining,” he said. “If we can’t entertain while we’re protecting cowboys, then people won’t come to the rodeo. People come to be entertained. I think being an entertainer, as well as a cowboy lifesaver is what drew me in as a kid.”

When Allard was a teenager, he attended a bullfighting school and from there began his career path toward professional bullfighting.TheVinita, Okla., native went on towin freestyle bullfighting competitions and in 2014-15 won two world championships in freestyle bullfighting. He joined the PRCA in 2005 and since then annually works at top rodeos including Fort Worth, Austin, Waco and Red Bluff (Calif.). “I’m a better bullfighter today than I was two years ago, and a way better bullfighter today than I was 15 years ago,” he said. “It’s just like anything else, if you don’t get better, you’re going to get beat. I just want to continue to be a great bullfighter.” For the first time in 2019, Allard was selected to work as a bullfighter on ProRodeo’s biggest stage – at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. “It was a great surprise,”said Allard, 31.“It was a roller coaster week waiting to find out if I was selected, but it was worth it. Anyone who rodeos wants to go to the NFR, it’s been a goal my entire life. I feel lucky I was able to go even once and I’m glad I was able to go as soon as I did.” Although he’d fought the same bulls at other rodeos, Allard said he had to mentally prepare to do the job at the Thomas & Mack Center. “I didn’t want a mistake to ruin my whole week out there, so mentally I had to be ready to take on the challenge,”he said.“(At theWrangler NFR) they buck 15 bulls so fast, no other rodeo keeps it moving that fast. If you get caught looking around, they’re bucking bulls before you’re ready.” The other season bullfighters Allard worked with at the Finals, Dusty Tuckness and Cody Webster, are great friends of his who he’s been fighting bulls with since 2007. “It was awesome to get to go to the NFR no matter what, but to get to do it with guys in that caliber and who are close friends made it even better,” he said.

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BULLFIGHTERS, CLOWNS AND BARRELMEN