Refered to as the GOAT (greatest of all time) Dusty Tuckness is the most decorated bull fighter in the history of ProRodeo, having received the PRCA Bull Fighter of the Year award 10 times in his career and nine times in a row at one point. But Dusty says, “I’m just a kid pursuing a dream.”
Rodeo athletes and crew talk about what makes a good bull fighter and why Dusty is the very best. Justin Rumford, Steve Kenyon, Trey Kimzey, Nathan Jestes, JW Harris, Garrett Smith and others pay tribute to their friend and cowboy protection specialist, Dusty Tuckness.
“It could be the meanest bull ever — I’d get on a grizzly bear if Dusty’s out there, and still smile about it,” says bull rider Garrett Smith, “because I know that he’s going to jump in front of him and do whatever he can to save me.”
“As soon as that latch cracks and that bull comes out of the chute, I mean, it’s kind of a moment of stillness,” says Dusty. “You’re reading the book in front of you, before it really unfolds. Every jump that bull makes, you’re trying to put yourself into position so that when that whistle blows and that bull rider hits the ground, you can be there to take that bull away from them. And then from there, we’re on to the next one. There’s no better feeling in the world.”
Tuckness is currently rehabbing a severe leg injury he sustained fighting bulls at his 13th NFR in 2021. In early February of 2022, he was surprised with the Lane Frost Award in Fort Worth, which is given annually to someone who has contributed substantially to the growth of rodeo.
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