The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is already pretty entertaining, but at Thursday night's rodeo, one performer out did himself.
It's the video that's the talk of the Stock Show and Rodeo on Friday, the video of bull fighter Dusty Tuckness surviving a close encounter with a bull in an usual and spectacular way.
"Just felt like I timed it good and the bull just got underneath me," Tuckness said on Friday. "He threw me pretty good ways in the air, but praise to God we landed it on the rail and got out of their in good shape."
Two different camera angles show Tuckness running in to get in-between a rider and the bull. As he ran Tuckness took what's called a "shot in the shorts" in rodeo lingo, as the bull's horns and head got him in the buttocks and sent him flying anywhere from 6 to 20 feet, by some estimates.
Tuckness hit the top rail with one foot, landing on the back rail of the chute with both feet. He then hoped up, gave a fist pound to another rodeo worker, waved his hand and went right back to work.
Tuckness was humble about his highlight reel efforts Friday afternoon, just as he was about to enter the rodeo ring, yet again.
"That's what we're out there to do is to just distract the bull and take the hookings or the shots needed to keep these guys safe," Tuckness said.
Tuckness, 26, and from Wyoming, has been a bull fighter for seven years. And if you think his efforts are unusual, he would tell you otherwise.
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"Sometimes we get thrown in the air and we do land them or make it out in good shape," Tuckness said. "So, when it works out like that it's really good. But when it works out the other way it's not so good for me, but you guys still get enjoyment from it."
Veteran rodeo watchers marveled at the effort on Friday, including the Stock Show's Manager Brad Barnes.
"You will not believe it, I don't think it's ever happened anywhere that anybody's ever known of," Barnes said. "He was almost even with the press box, which was very scary at that moment in time. I was really nervous. But then he landed on the top rail of the buck chute, just like it was planned. He landed just like he was a gymnast."
Barnes joked with Tuckness about performing the move every show, but it is something the Stock Show and Rodeo is glad to show off.
"Good for ticket sales," Barnes said.
But on Friday Tuckness said he kept to himself in his trailer.
"I just kept kind of a low profile," he said.
Thanking God for his solid landing right before he was back chasing bulls and protecting riders.
"We're good and ready to go," Tuckness said.
Tuckness said he's just ready for the last week of shows and will keep doing his job of protecting riders.
