AGE: 36
BORN: Dec. 13, 1972, in Humansville, Mo.
HOMETOWN: Springfield, Mo.
The simple truth is, Joe Garretson believes in bullfighting. It's more than risking injury. It's more than taking a beating in an effort to keep bull riders from harm's way. I believe in the future of the sport of bullfighting," said Garretson, the 2008 bullfighter of the year in the Professional Championship Bullriders tour.
A two-time qualifier to the Professional Bullfighters Daisy Protection Bullfight World Championships, he knows a little bit about the game. In 2007, he and partner Brandt Clark won the finals competition and finished the season as the reserve world championship team, second only to the top team of Wacey Munsell and Sam Gress.
"The format for the protection matches is great, because it gives good bullfighters a way to compete and show their skills in competition," Garreston said. "The PBF is the future of our sport, and I'm excited to be part of it."
The competition kudos are just part of what defines the Missouri bullfighter. Since he started his career more than a decade ago, he has been the IPRA's Southern Regional Bullfighter of the year in 2004; the American Cowboys Rodeo Association Bullfighter of the Year in 2005 and 2006; and has been one of the top bullfighting instructors for Sankey Rodeo Schools for the last five years.
"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 love of the game keeps him coming back, whether it's working at a rodeo or a bull-riding event. He's proven to be one of the toughest hombres to ever strap on cleats. In early 2009, he spent five days in a Cincinnati hospital after taking a beating by a bull during a PCB Tour event. He came out of the hospital anxious to fight bulls.
"It's more about doing what most men won't do. Bearing down the eyes of a 2000 pound beast that wants to kill you and being able to take a moment of control away from him to protect a fallen brother. It's not about the fight or the thrill. It's more about educating yourself enough to read every muscle movement a bull can make and using it in your favor to produce the desired result. When you get to that point in the fight you sometimes convince yourself you have control of the situation which allows you to make decisions or commitments that a sane person wouldn't dream of. Sometimes you win and sometimes you have to make a sacrifice to protect the bull rider."
