Help Us -- Help Yourself
Guest Editorial by -- Allen Nelson

Over the twenty-some years I have spent fighting bulls, at least one tendency has persevered. Bull riders just don't pay much attention to the bullfighters. I believe I understand what the reason for this is, and I can live with it. I just wish that there was more understanding between us.

I believe that a bull rider shouldn't have to be concerned with who is fighting bulls where he is riding. After all, it takes a lot of concentration and self confidence to ride (or fight) bulls and attain any level of consistent success. A bull rider has plenty to worry about without having to worry about whether the bullfighters are competent. That's why having quality bullfighters at any event is so important -- so the riders can just ride.

Where I get a bit confused is when I see good hands getting on good bulls at what should be a good quality event, yet the bullfighters haven't got much of a clue. There are many reasons this occurs -- I won't get into that here -- but what is so surprising is that the bull riders usually don't say a word about it. I worked a PBR event as a barrel man last year, and two of the three bullfighters consistently took the bulls the wrong way at the buzzer. Neither one of these guys had been fighting bulls for a full year, and yet here they were trying to cause a wreck at a PBR. Bull rider reaction? None that I know of. I realize you guys are concentrating on your own performance, but do you have to wait until someone gets mucked out for the little red flag to go up? I've seen many similar situations at other PBRs and certainly at PRCA rodeos. In both our trades we know sooner or later we will be injured. But do you really want to be injured because someone else made a mistake?

While it's not the bull rider's job to hire the bullfighters, you guys have a lot more influence than you think. I've had a rodeo committee tell me that they always try to hire the bullfighters from the NFR for their rodeo because they feel that having quality bullfighters will help draw the top bull riders. Is that how you guys determine where you are going? Of course not, but this shows that many committees care enough about you to try and protect you. They want the best stock and the best cowboys at their event, and they want the best in protection there for you. If you guys stand up for yourselves and demand the best, you'll probably get it.

But, how do you know what the best is? Well, first of all, let me just say that I don't ride bulls. I have been on one or two in the practice pen, but I certainly don't have any business telling you how to ride a bull. I think most bull riders would agree with that. So, I feel that even though you may have made a pass or two in the practice pen, you have no more business telling me how to fight one than I do telling you how to ride one. You probably have more to learn in trying to understand what makes a good bullfighter than I do trying to understand what makes a good bull rider, but as I said above, you just need to ride. So, if you want to stand up and tell the committee or contractor or producer that you want a decent bullfighter to protect you, what do you tell him when he asks, "All right, who do you want?"

What if someone wanted to be an electrician? Would he just go out and buy some pliers and electrical tape and start wiring houses? NO! That's not the way it's done. People's lives and well being depend on the electrician doing the job correctly. In bullfighting your life and well being are on the line, but anyone can get a pair of cleats, make them some baggies, put on some greasepaint and get hired to protect YOU -- the bull rider -- at an event, especially if they work cheap enough. Now, an electrician is required to go to school at his own expense to study, learn, and be tested to demonstrate he knows what he is doing before he can go into practice. He has to be certified by a reputable institution that he can do the job. Why shouldn't bullfighters have to undergo the same process? Well, frankly there has never been a means for certifying bullfighters. Until now...

Enter the TwoBulls Bullfighting Academy. The Academy's aim is to certify qualified bullfighters. In other words, if you go to an event and see that the bullfighters have been certified by TwoBulls, you know you don't have to give it another thought. The protection part of the Academy springs forth from the years of time and expertise put into the production of Protection Bullfights sponsored by the Professional Bullfighters Tour. In protection matches, teams are scored on how well they protect the bull riders. In order to come up with a judging system, the components of protecting cowboys had to be identified. This process took several years of input, adjustment, and refinement from most of the top names in the bullfighting business. And now that we've identified the mechanics of protection bullfighting, it can be taught at the Academy. What took many of us years to learn can now be taught to those who need to learn the trade.

TwoBulls Academy is not a three day rodeo school. It costs more, and is broken up into several courses that not only teach protection bullfighting, but freestyle, business, media training, and advanced concepts. While certification in protection is probably the most important, the other skills are necessary for a bullfighter to survive in today's market.

It's easy to blame the young guy who just wants a start in the business and takes a job working a high profile event mostly just to be seen. There are certainly those out there ready to hire him. He's got a lot of energy, but doesn't have a clue as to what to do. He's full of try, but if it gets you run over, what good is that? As the TwoBulls Academy brings certification to the table, we won't have to wonder about a bullfighter's credentials. Successful graduates will not only have the knowledge they need to provide the maximum in protection, but they will have had to demonstrate that they can apply these skills in the arena. It's just like the difference between having your house wired by a certified electrician or your buddies brother in law who works at Radio Shack and needs the extra money. Sure, it will cost more, but your career, maybe your life, might just be worth it. Besides, if a bullfighter can't make himself worth more by going to the Academy, why should he go and learn how to save bull riders the right way?

So, I'd like to see the bull riders take a little interest in their own health and safety by taking an interest in the Academy and certification of bullfighters. With your help, only those bullfighters certified in protection skills will be able to work the events you go to. It can't prevent every accident from happening, but when it's your turn to be in a tight spot, who do you want covering your backside?

Allen Nelson has been fighting bulls since 1981 and joined the PRCA in 1988. He resides in Perry, AR.