Conventional wisdom says that anyone trying out a new sport will “take their lumps” for quite a while before they achieve any type of success. But Justin Ward is not an average athlete. And while he continues to take his lumps (literally), he’s also quickly found success charging at him like an angry bull.
Justin graduated from Mabel-Canton High School in 2014, and then went on to graduate from Dickinson State College earlier this year with a degree in Agricultural Business. His current “day job” is working as a ranch hand in Richardton, N. Dak. While in high school, Justin participated in rodeo, and that continued when he went to college. Justin said he was riding bulls at rodeos, and then went to a couple of rodeos and was told that they needed someone to be a “protection bullfighter,” so he stepped in and tried it, and liked it. Justin explained that there are two types of bullfighting in the U.S. Protection bullfighters are those who distract the bull, when a rider has fallen off. These are the bullfighters that sometime jump in or behind a barrel for safety when the bull approaches. The second type, freestyle bullfighting, is a one-on-one situation between a bull and the athlete, with no protection.
After about five years of protection bullfighting, Justin says this year he decided to try freestyle, and, “It all started with me going to a development camp in San Bernardino, Calif. It’s a school where they teach you how to fight Mexican fighting bulls.” He explained that these bulls are specially bred for speed and aggression. “And from there,” he adds, “I got selected to go to the Ada Invitational in Ada, Okla., and I ended up fourth overall. And because of my success down there, they invited me to Kennewick, Wash, and that’s where I ended up winning the whole deal, and $10,000…. And that put me third in the world standings as of now.”
Obviously, bullfighting is a dangerous sport, and Justin told of his worst injury, stating, “When I was protection fighting at the college rodeo here in Dickinson a couple years ago, a bull got me down and rolled me over and stepped on my face, and that’s when I broke my nose. But I still got up and fought the rest of the rodeo.” Clearly, toughness is not lacking in Justin. Even now that he is involved in freestyle bullfighting, Justin wears no special gear other than a plastic-plated vest to protect his rib cage.
Justin explained that in freestyle events, bullfighters have 60 seconds to fight the bull, and the contestants try to put in as many stunts as possible, including faking-out or jumping over the bull. He said if a bull is too slow or mellow, it can hurt the score, and sometimes a bullfighter will even get a “do-over” with another bull if the original bull wasn’t active enough. The more exciting the moves are, the better score the bullfighter will get. When asked his favorite part of the sport, Justin answered, “Oh, the adrenalin for sure! Just the fact that your heart’s going, and you made something that’s trying to kill you look pretty stupid because it can’t touch you.”
Justin said Bullfighters Only (BFO) is the organization that puts on most of the major events in this sport. BFO events are considered elite bullfighting, and are by invitation only. To stay in shape for his sport, Justin uses a combination of meditation, yoga and running. Next up for Justin is a rodeo in Deadwood on June 8, then Newtown (North Dakota), and then a BFO event in July. But he’s already assured a spot in the “Super Bowl” of bullfighting, which will be the BFO Finals, in Las Vegas, in December. Justin also said he greatly appreciates the support of his parents, Doug and Traci Ward. No doubt they, and many others in the area, will be rooting for Justin to continue his amazing success.
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