Cavenders Boots
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
Joe Garretson and Cory Wall know this game.
Garretson, 36, of Springfield, Mo., and Wall, 40, of Burlington, Colo., have a combined 30 years experience battling bovines, protecting fallen cowboys at rodeos and bull-ridings all over the country. Now they will work together again during the Professional Bullfighters Daisy Protection Bullfight World Championships during the SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo in Odessa, Texas.
“I sell my bullfights in my protection,” he said. “I believe you have to be a good freestyle bullfighter to be a good protection bullfighter. I just grew through the years on the protection deal and got better and better.”
The veterans not only bring the talent to the table, but also they have handfuls of hands-on training.
“This is an opportunity to show them how to fight bulls the right way,” said Wall, an alternate bullfighter at the 2007 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
Wall and Garretson earned the right to play in the world championships by finishing among the top five through the rigors of the 20-event 2008 season. Together they scored 3,370 points.
When they’re not fighting bulls, they do their part in training up-and-coming bullfighters. Both have gone through the prestigious TwoBulls Academy, which teaches the key ingredients to competition protection bullfighting. They’ve also taught bullfighting skills through Sankey Rodeo Schools.
“It’s about doing things most guys can’t do. It’s turning that fear into adrenaline and having fun with it,” Garretson said. “There are guys fighting in the PBR and the PRCA that don’t fight bulls like we do in the PBF.”