Bullfighting is considered to be one of the most dangerous jobs with bullfighters actively – and intentionally – putting their bodies on the line to protect fallen bull riders.
As bullfighter Miles Svoboda puts it, you don’t come away injury free.
“I have been hooked and broke three ribs,” Svoboda said. “Then at a high school rodeo, I got hooked and dislocated a shoulder. Then a month ago, I was working a hang up and the bull kicked me, breaking three more ribs.”
Yet Svoboda gets back in the arena night in and night out to protect riders despite the bumps and bruises.
For Svoboda, bullfighting is a passion.
“It’s something about the love of the game,” Svoboda said. “Once you get that dirt inside of you, you can’t get it out. It’s a fire inside of you. The best way to explain it is like a baseball player going to practice everyday to get better. Once you get this in your blood, you can’t get it out.”
Svoboda has been bullfighting for three years, ever since his brother needed a bullfighter when he needed to practice.
Now Svoboda works bull riding events including last Saturday’s Wimberley Memorial Day Rodeo.
“Growing up I rodeoed and started riding when I was a little kid,” Svoboda said. “I got a little bigger and started on the timed events. My brother rode bulls for as long as I can remember. He had a practice pen and needed a bullfighter, so I started picking it up. I just fell in love with it.”
In bull riding, the bullfighter’s job is to protect the rider when they have jumped, or have been bucked off, a bull. The job is taken on by a threeman crew while the barrelman is responsible for entertaining the crowd.
When the event starts, a bullfighter must be prepared for every scenario possible.
“Before the bull ride, I’m thinking about my positioning and where I need to be,” Svoboda said. “Knowing what is happening with the rider, what kind of bull rope he has and how things are going to start so I can be the best prepared for how it is going to go.”
On night one of the rodeo, Svoboda found himself in the worst case scenario.
During bull riding, a rider was knocked unconscious by the bull after being flung around.
The rider remained motionless on the ground with a near 1,800-pound bull ready to finish the job.
That is where Svoboda steps in.
“When a guy is knocked out, I am trying to engage the bull and get him far away from the rider,” Svoboda said. “I’m trying to buy real estate between me and him. The more ground between the bull and the rider and the farther I take him away, the better the situation will be.”
Successfully, Svoboda distracted the bull, who in turn focused on him rather than the rider. The bull charged at him before leaving the arena as rodeo personnel ran to check on the rider. Fortunately, the rider regained consciousness before he was helped out.
If it wasn’t for Svoboda or any of the bullfighters, the fallen rider may not have been so lucky.
“Our job as bullfighters is to protect the riders,” Svoboda said. “No matter what shape our bodies are in, we need to do our job.”
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