'What are you gonna do? Sit there and cry?' Crosby bullfighter talks 2022 RodeoHouston moment
Bryce Redo is among a coveted few bullfighters earning spots in the PBR World Finals.
CROSBY, Texas (KTRK) -- Bryce Redo laughs because he knows the question is coming.
What does he remember about getting picked up by a bull and slammed twice into the gate at RodeoHouston just over a year ago?
"What are you gonna do? Sit there and cry?" Redo said with a smile. "Nobody's gonna care, if you know what I mean. So I got up and smiled about it. It was nobody else's fault but mine."
Redo dusted himself off and got right back to doing what he does as well as anyone in the world: protecting elite bull riders.
Redo's work paid off with an invitation to the Professional Bull Riders' World Finals starting this weekend in Ft. Worth.
Redo told Eyewitness Sports it's the highest honor a bullfighter can receive, with the best riders trusting him with their lives.
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"I'm speechless for it. I never dreamed it would happen this fast. It just goes to show you, the bull riders are paying attention," he said.
Redo and his fellow bullfighters pay attention, too. It's their job to keep riders safe when they get thrown off or even worse: caught on a bull that's out of control.
"I started fighting bulls and I just fell in love with it. Man, it's all I think about every day," he said.
What he thinks about is controlling agitated bulls that can weigh 1,800 pounds. A car crash, he says, is the best comparison for the adrenaline rush he feels when it's time to put himself between the rider and the bull.
"I'm not saying, 'Go out there and get in a car wreck,' to try to experience the adrenaline we do. But there's no match to the feeling we have," he said.
Redo claims both Dayton and Crosby as his hometowns, and he's proud to represent all of Houston when he goes to work around the country.
He also works to make his family proud. Both his mom and his dad were professional bull riders, but nothing can match the love he has for his young daughters. Making them proud and keeping every bull rider safe drives everything he does.
He'll go to work over the next two weekends on the biggest stage in bull riding.
"No matter how many people are watching, the job stays the same. Protecting these guys is what I do for a living and I love it," he said.
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