Steve "Snorkel"
From is a bullfighter from Sutherland, Neb. His book, titled "The
Reincarnation of Bennett McKinney," is available at all North
Platte bookstores as well as Barnes & Noble stores throughout
the country.
"The closest you can get to riding a bull or fighting a bull
without really doing it is to read this book," From said.
Building a Bullrider
By Denise Poss
On any given day on the job, Steve "Snorkel"
From of Sutherland might get trampled, kicked, gored or worse. It's all
in a day's work for this bullfighter - and he says he wouldn't have it
any other way.
"The real purpose of a bullfighter is to protect cowboys," From
said. "When they get thrown off, I've got to get in the bulls face
and get them to chase me so the cowboy can get away."
To accomplish this, bullfighters combine cunning skill, amazing quickness
and vast bull riding knowledge to distract the enraged bull from its prey
as quickly as possible.
Like many bullfighters, From also provides comic relief during rodeo events.
Over the years, he has created about 17 comedy acts and usually selects
two for each rodeo.
"I show up about four hours early," From said of a typical rodeo.
"I get my wireless microphone set up, talk to the announcers and
that kind of thing."
During his comedy routines, From said he sometimes chooses children from
the audience to participate or uses a barrel as part of his show.
"Sometimes there are slow spots because of trouble with the barrier
or things like that," From said. "My job then is to keep the
crowd going."
From often tells short jokes to keep the crowd entertained, but he said
he's always aware of what is going on in the bull pen
"I have to time it just right,
because when they do nod their head and they're ready to ride, I have to
be done with the punch line," he said.
From said he has fun with the comedy act, but when the bull riding begins,
he is focused on the job at hand.
"When I'm fighting bulls, I take off the wireless microphone and my
job is to protect the cowboy," he said.
Many bullfighters also participate in another type of bullfighting often
referred to as "freestyle," said From, who also said he "used
to do quite a bit, but wasn't very good at it."
"Freestyle bullfighting is a competition," From said. "You've
got 90 seconds with a bull and you get them to chase you. You run around
him and jump him. You've just got to daredevil him and see how close you
can come to getting wiped out without getting wiped out!"
Of course, all this bullfighting action doesn't come without a price - usually
in the form of cuts, bumps and bruises.
"I've probably had more than my share of injuries," From laughed.
"I've split my head open a couple of times and cracked my skull pretty
bad once. I've had a couple of broken fingers and bumps and bruises all
the time, which you just take in stride."
To help protect himself, From wears a chest pad and small hip pads, but
he said a lot of padding tends to bind him and he isn't as free to move
around.
At 43, From said he is still in good shape despite his previous injuries.
He also said he has no plans to give up bullfighting anytime soon.
"I'd rather stay home than watch from the bleachers," he said
with a laugh.
NPTSummer 2004 Issue
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