Bullfighter Dusty Tuckness distracts a bull as its rider scrambles away Sept. 14, 2019, during the Pendleton Round-Up. After suffering a broken leg at the 2021 National Finals Rodeo, Tuckness has been back in the arena since June.

PENDLETON — The name of the game is to protect the bull rider from the bull. In the world of bullfighting, Dusty Tuckness is one of the best in the business.

The 10-time Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association Bullfighter of the Year was scheduled to protect bull riders at the Xtreme Bulls competition Sept. 12-13 in Pendleton, then turn his attention to the Pendleton Round-Up, Sept. 14-17.

“It’s a great rodeo,” said Tuckness, who believes this will be his eighth Pendleton Round-Up. “It’s definitely where you want to be this time of year. There’s something special about the atmosphere. I’m blessed to be a part of it.”

Seven-time world champion Sage Kimzey said there’s no one better than Tuckness in the arena if you are a bull rider.

“I think he’s arguably one of the best of all time,” Kimzey said. “He’s one of the guys who revolutionized the sport of bull riding to what it is today. Bull riding is dangerous, but you know he will take care of things. If there is a wreck, Tuck will be right there in the middle of it all.”

For a time, there was some doubt as to whether Tuckness, 36, would be able to work this rodeo season after suffering a broken leg at the 2021 National Finals Rodeo.

Tuckness was hurt in the ninth round of the NFR on Dec. 10, 2021, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. A bull named Bouchon stepped on his left leg as he was helping bull rider Braden Richardson to safety. He suffered breaks to the tibia and fibula.

There was no taking a few seconds to shake it off. No telling the Justin Sports Medicine team to stay behind the gate. For the first time in a long time, he needed help.

“It’s been the one that’s kept me out,” Tuckness said. “Others I toughed through. I had to let it heal before I could get back. I’m used to doing something every day, but that was part of the challenge. I just did everything in my power to get through it. I put in the work. I was up to the challenge to get back.”

He had two surgeries to make sure the bones were properly aligned. He has a rod and screws in his lower leg.

While recuperating, Tuckness spent hours in the gym working out, eating right and relying on the strength of his Christian faith to get this through the tough times.

“Everybody in life need to have that faith and keep a right mind about things,” he said. “Hard work goes a long way. The time you put in pays off, but it all starts with that first step, making every day count and making the best of it.”

Tuckness was able to ditch his walking boot in March, and slowly started getting his leg back into rodeo shape.

“It was a good day,” he said. “It would get me closer to where I wanted to be. You have to celebrate the little victories. Each step was one step closer to get back to where I want to be, which was the arena.”

Tuckness returned to the rodeo arena to work in June and has worked about 70 performances since then. He was in Iowa on Sept. 8, and will fly back to the Northwest on Sunday.

He made his first trip to a rodeo arena in February, when he was awarded the Lane Frost Award at the Forth Worth Stock Show. The award is given to a person who has enhanced the image and growth of ProRodeo.

He said he thought he was there to present the award to someone else.

“The award itself is an honor,” Tuckness said. “It’s one of my favorite rodeos all year. It was an emotional night for sure. I didn’t know Lane, but I knew his values and character, and I respect that.”

Kimzey said the honor was well deserved.

“For as great as he is in the arena, he is a great man, as well,” Kimzey said. “There are a lot of us who have dedicated ourselves to being great in the arena. He goes beyond that. He took me under his wing when I was a rookie and showed me what it was like to be a professional rodeo cowboy. He has been at the NFR like 10 times. To do anything for over a decade is really, really impressive.”

It runs in the family

Tuckness is a fourth generation rodeo man. His dad, Timber Tuckness was a bullfighter/rodeo clown, back when the job requirement called for the men to pull double duty.

His grandfather and great grandfather also were rodeo clowns, going to back to the 1930s.

Tuckness grew up in Meeteetse, Wyoming, where he was a multi-sport athlete in high school. He toyed with playing college football, but the coach was not keen on his side job. As we know, rodeo won out.

Tuckness tagged along with his dad to rodeos at a young age, and the bug was planted.

“I started at 12 years old, and I was getting contracts for rodeos when I was 14 or 15,” he said. “It’s my calling. There’s just something about it. I kept going on with it and working at it, and it turned into a full-time career.”

Tuckness works Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeos, Xtreme Bulls and Professional Bull Riders.

“Whenever they call me and I’m open, I will go,” he said. “We have a weekend off here and there, but we are pretty full up every year.”

Bull fighters should find out next month if they have been voted in by the bull riders to work the 2022 NFR.

“My objective right now is to be focused on the rodeos at hand and getting stronger,” Tuckness said. “If it happens, it happens.”

As for the bull Bouchon, Tuckness said he’s not sure if he has come up against him this year.

“I’ve done 70 performances since I’ve been back,” he said. “I’m not counting bulls. I don’t really know.”

Tuckness might not know all the bulls, but all bull riders definitely know him.