He is known as the greatest bullfighter of all time. He is a ten-time PRCA Bull Fighter of the year with 13 trips to the National Finals Rodeo under his belt. He is Dusty Tuckness and in Justin Boot’s Standard of the West, we got to dig a little deeper into what makes Tuckness the best there has ever been.
It is no secret that Tuckness works hard outside of the arena so that he can be outstanding inside the arena. It boils down to effort and determination for him.
“I always want to have a vision and mindset of pursuing excellence. What can I do better today from yesterday, that can make it better for tomorrow? Hard work and self-discipline is what it takes to achieve certain things in life. I think that’s the mindset of a winner and the mindset of a champion that you need to have,” Tuckness said.
Tuckness grew up in a small Idaho town before he moved to Wyoming his freshman year of high school. Along with his two brothers, Tuckness played sports, was involved in 4-H, the scouts and they were a family that thrived in the outdoors.
As for his parents, Tuckness’ mother might not have been thrilled with his choice to be a professional bull fighter but now, Tuckness says she probably enjoys it more than he does. His father was how he got into rodeo. He fought bulls and still works the barrel some today and was an important mentor in Tuckness’ life.
Although he makes it look easy, Tuckness’ work ethic is unlike any other.
“There’s going to be good days but there’s also going to be some bad and tough days too. You can’t sit and fret on the past, you keep working, keep working hard and put your best foot forward,” he said.