Joe Butler was happy as a team roper. He enjoyed the competition, which secured him a scholarship at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a junior college in Miami, Okla.. Age: 29
Born: Sept. 24, 1980, in Cushing, Okla.
Hometown: Stillwater, Okla.
Joe Butler was happy as a team roper. He enjoyed the competition, which secured him a scholarship at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a junior college in Miami, Okla..
But while there, he roomed with bull riders, who talked him into putting his body in the line of fire and fighting bulls for them.
“I just fell in love with it, and I didn’t even know what it was,” said Butler, who began pursuing his passion in 2000. “Nothing makes you feel better than when you save a guy when he’s in trouble.”
Butler has been voted to work the American Cowboys Rodeo Association Finals and, over the past five years, has been working events in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Professional Bull Riders organization, as well as competing on the Professional Bullfighters’ Daisy Protection Bullfight Tour.
“I do this because I love rodeoing,” he said. “It’s just a love of the game. I travel all over the country, and I’m working right now in Montana. I love the travel, and I go out west a lot, because that’s where most of my rodeos are. I leave the house the first part of May and I don’t get home until September usually.”
While some bullfighters jump between the tasks of freestyle and protection, Butler focuses on his work saving cowboys. That’s why he enjoys the opportunities to compete when they arise.
“I really like those deals,” he said. “It’s something different. I didn’t go to a lot of the freestyle deals, so this is competition for us. It get some of the best guys out there.
“When the bulls are hooking and the guys are on top of their game, it’s fun to watch.”