Cowboy comes home for Manitoba's only pro rodeo

Few Manitoba cowboys and cowgirls call Manitoba's only pro rodeo home, with most competitors coming from farther west in Canada or from farther south in the U.S. But for one bullfighter, the Manitoba Stampede is as close as it gets to working at home.

Daryl Thiessen, 26, grew up in Elm Creek, and for seven years he's been a bull fighter — meaning it's his job to protect bullriders when they're thrown from the animal. With the exception of a three-year stint in Alberta in his early 20s, still today Thiessen calls Elm Creek home, and aside from when the PBR comes to Winnipeg, the Manitoba Stampede in Morris is one of the only opportunities in the year that Thiessen gets to perform in front of a hometown crowd.                      

"This summer I've been in Montana mostly," he says after Saturday's rodeo program at this year's Stampede. "It's always special when you can come home and work your hometown rodeo. That's something we all look forward to in our careers... it's a great honour to be here."

In his younger days, Thiessen tried his hand at bull riding and saddle bronc, but he says bull fighting is his passion, as he can be both a cowboy and an athlete. It's not necessarily a passion that ran in the family, though.

Thiessen grew up on a ranch with cattle and horses, but he says his family didn't rodeo. However his bullfighting inspiration did come from a family trip to see some cowboys.

"Dad got some tickets when he was a mechanic in Winnipeg at one of the dealerships there, to the bull-busting with Cody Snyder's deal in Winnipeg at the old arena. He took us in 1994, I was four years old, and we were hooked after that," he laughs. "At first (my mom) was skeptical about it, but now she loves it and she's my biggest fan and supporter."

While it's a dangerous profession, it's one Thiessen feels he is fortunate to have.

"You just learn to control your fear," he says, "and we know we're going to get hurt eventually, but you've just got to put that behind you and do your job. It's a pretty cool way to make a living, doing something very few people can do, and then doing it well enough to make a living at it."

Thiessen says the job has also allowed him to travel across North America. In fact, now that the Manitoba Stampede is done, Thiessen won't be home long, as he's headed off to Montana this week.

Thiessen says his ultimate goal is to one day make the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. But, in the meantime, he still calls Elm Creek home.