Michelle Berg
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Tanner Byrne, one of Canada’s finest bull fighters from Prince Albert, Sask., is one of three cowboy protectors at this weekend’s PBR Canada Cup Series at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
In an interview with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, he reflected on bull fighters who protected him as a pro rider; he’s now returning the favour, protecting young riders.
Here’s what he had to say about his exhilarating career transitioning from professional bull riding to bull fighting.
Q: What did you do before fighting bulls?
A: I was a professional bull rider for many years — grew up riding, had a great career as a bull rider, made the world finals multiple times. Almost eight years ago, I decided to make the switch.
Q: Who inspired you to get into this profession?
A: My dad, Ryan Byrne, was actually the first Canadian bull fighter to ever be selected for the national final rodeo in Las Vegas. And then my brothers and cousins followed in his footsteps after that and became some of the most decorated bull fighters in Canada and across the world.
Q: What has the transition been like?
A: There’s not a lot of guys that do bull fighting and bull riding. It’s kind of like a hockey player playing forward and goalie – two completely different aspects of a sport. It’s something I grew up in, something I knew my whole life, and I kind of had a plan that I was going to do it and made the switch.
So now I’ve become the only rider ever to ride bulls and fight bulls at the PBR Canada finals and Canadian finals rodeo and the stampede. So it’s been a fun transition over, and I get to be in the sport that I love.
Q: Can you explain the difference between riding and fighting?
A: A bull rider, it’s intense. You go get prepared all day for one ride of eight seconds, right? You leave it all on the line for that one ride of the night and then your job is done. A bull fighter, we’ve got 40 bulls that we have to go through, and 40 different guys that we have to take care of, so you try to kind of stay level.
You don’t let your mind get too excited, or too down and out. You just treat every bull the same and be ready to react to all situations. So obviously, very intense, dangerous, and not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. But yeah, two totally different games, totally different aspects.
Q: Did riding make you better at fighting?
A: I think that being a bull rider, just being around animals and bulls my whole life, I think it helped me a lot to become the bull fighter that I’ve become. Being able to read the play a little bit more, know some positions that a guy might be in when he might hit the ground, or where he might land, and put myself in a position to get in between the rider and the bull to make sure the bull comes to me.
Q: How do you become a bull fighter in the PBR Canada Cup Finals?
A: So, on the PBR Canada Cup Series tour, the bull riders vote for their top three fighters for the finals. I work with two guys on the Cup series, Brett Monea and Ty Prescott. We work as a team of three of us out there. Those two are some of my best friends and they do a very good job.
Q: This sport is extremely dangerous. Why do you do it?
A: The guy that’s out there (is) a young kid, somebody you know. I’ve been in that same position; I know the sacrifices that they’ve made to make a living fighting bulls to feed their families, and that’s the biggest reward for me, is to watch those guys walk away safe. They could be in the worst wreck going in and we can roll in there and literally save their lives.
Q: How do you know if it’s been a successful event?
A: If everybody gets to walk away safe. That’s the biggest thing as a bull fighter. That’s your job, cowboy protection. If we can protect those guys where everybody can walk out of the arena healthy and happy and go home to their family, then that’s a successful weekend.
Q: Is there one stand-out bull fighter who protected you when you were riding?
A: For a lot of years I got to travel the PBR all across the States with my brother Jesse. Best bull fighter in the world. He was the guy out there who protected me at all those events across the country. I knew that if there was any way of keeping me from getting hurt, he was gonna do that.
Q: What’s it like getting to be right there when the bull first comes out of the chute?
A: It’s pretty fun to watch them. I’m a big fan of the bulls and I get a front row seat. I get to watch an 1,800-pound animal jump five, six feet in the air. They’re better athletes than us guys. You learn their tendencies, which way they’re going to spin, or how they’re going to act when that rider jumps off.
Q: Have you ever been injured?
A: There’s a lot of injuries. I actually have a torn bicep right now. I was in Portland, Texas two weeks ago at an event, and I took a shot from a bull trying to protect a guy. When I got back to the locker room my arm was twice the size of the other one and my bicep was curled up in a ball in my muscle. There are injuries you deal with at every single event, one of the more major components of the sport.
Q: What do you wear for protection?
A: We have a vest similar to bull riders. It’s got a hard shell on it though, just for impact and horns. Some guys wear fit pads similar to dirt biking or skateboarding. I wear knee braces and a good set of cleats so you can be agile. We also all carry knives in case a guy gets a foot caught in the rope. We can come in and use our knives to cut the guys loose.
There isn’t a whole bunch to it, due to the fact that you’ve got to be agile. You’ve got to be able to move. If you’re all bundled up, you’re not going to be able to move out there the way that you want to move. You’re not going to be able to do the job correctly.
So, we know it’s dangerous. We know what we’re getting ourselves into. At the end of the day, if you get run over by an 1,800-pound bull it’s going to hurt a lot, no matter what you’re wearing — so that just kind of comes along with the game.
Q: What is your career goal?
A: In my career, I’m very happy with what I’ve done, getting to be in the arena and getting to do the job that I do at the highest level here in Canada. I got to the finals a bunch of times now, and that’s the goal every single year. There’s tons of good bull fighters in Canada, and so to be able to get selected in that top three, that’s your icing on the cake.
My goal now is just to do the job. I get to stay up here in Canada and get to go to a bunch of cool events. I went to the world finals and fulfilled my goal as a bull rider, and honestly, now it’s just taking care of these young guys and my friends in the arena, and the goal is to just keep doing it until I feel like I can’t do the job anymore.