N E W S R E L E A S E

N E W S &n= bsp; R E L E A S E

Texas Heritage National Bank PBR Challenge – Sulphur Spri= ngs, Texas=

presented by Priefert Ranch Equipm= ent

cychallenge.com<= /b>

For information        =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =                    =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;          (660) 254-1900

Contact Ted Harbin        =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =                    =             &nb= sp;            =           <= span style=3D'color:blue'>media@pbftour.com

Nelson brings va= lue of entertainment and a load of expertise

SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas – With his feet firmly entrenched in the past, Allen Nelson peers eas= ily into bullfighting’s future.

“Good bullfighting at= any level is about the basics,” said Nelson, 53, of Perry, Ark., the oldest active bullfighter in t= he United States. “It’s the same thing I learned when I first started, and itR= 17;s what makes a good bullfighter today.”

And it’s the foundati= on for the Professional Bullfighters Inc. and its Daisy Protection Bullfight Tour, which will be one of three featured competitions at the Texas Heritage Nati= onal Bank PBR Challenge presented by Priefert Ranch Equipment.

Nelson should know. He̵= 7;s one of the PBF’s founders, serves as the association’s vice preside= nt, is head of the organization’s officials and is a TwoBulls Academy trainer.

“In the PBF, our judg= ing system has to incorporate the basics of bullfighting to make sure bullfight= ers do things that way to get the highest score possible, and if they’re = not doing the basics right, they’re penalized,” said Nelson, who wi= ll be the Star Country Entertainer during the two performances of the PBR Challenge, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Hopkins County Regi= onal Civic Center.

Four two-man teams will com= pete over the two nights of competition in conjunction with the Professional Bull Riders’ Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour and American Bucking Bull Inc. Cla= ssic contests. The players are a who’s who of elite bullfighters, and all = the teams are represented by finalists from the 2008 PBF Daisy Protection Bullf= ight World Championships: Team Texas Heritage National Bank, Andy Burelle and Du= sty Tuckness; Team Alliance Bank, Joe Garretson and Lance McIlvain; Team CNB Ba= nk, Wacey Munsell and Chad Dowdy; and Team Timber Ridge Belgians, Dave Jantzi a= nd Toby Inman.

“The main thing I lik= e about the PBF is that it allows for growth in our sport,” said Nelson, who = is also a clown/barrelman in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. “I’ve seen bullfighters come, and I’ve seen them go. I= 217;ve seen the greats. But the year after they’re gone, who will remember t= hem? The PBF does so many things. It’s going to allow guys like that to st= ill be involved in bullfighting as a teacher, as a judge, as a mentor.

“The PBF gives someth= ing back to the sport. I think it does something to the young guys, because it gives them competition, the chance to come up through the ranks and earn their sp= ots just like everyone else in rodeo, everyone else in a free society.”        &= nbsp;    Nelson knows, mainly because he’s been there. He started three decades ago, = when he took his knowledge of livestock inside the arena. Then he began educating himself.

“I started going to e= very school I could afford,” said Nelson, whose middle child, 21-year-old Brodie, is also a bullfighter. “Early on, I’d work high school rodeos, the (American Junior Rodeo Association), open rodeos.”

His years working as a rode= o clown might come in rather handy this weekend, where he will enter the civic cent= er arena under the spotlight of entertainer. Donning a microphone, he will ser= ve as the color commentator to the arena announcer while throwing in plenty of newsy items that will not only inform the audience but also entertain.

“The key is to knowin= g when you need to say something to keep things going and knowing when to shut up = and let the action do the entertaining,” Nelson said.

He began working ProRodeos = in 1988, and even though it’s just a few times a year, he still fights bulls. Slower afoot than the younger sect, Nelson realizes he fights bulls a diffe= rent way than most, even different than he did 20 years ago. But there’s t= he love affair with something few have done, even fewer have tried.

“I love it so much,&#= 8221; he said. “It’s something I’ve always done. Early in my life,= I really loved football, and when I got to college and wasn’t playing anymore, I missed it. I think I’d be that way with bullfighting.

“You don’t lose= your mental ability to fight bulls. At some point, you reach an age where your m= ind is writing checks your body can’t cash. You have to keep an eye on th= at. As a young man, there were some things that I could do and get away with, b= ut now I rely more on my brain.”

Still, his life and his liv= elihood are wrapped around that passion. While he doesn’t spend every week fighting bulls, traveling from one rodeo to another, he believes in it as a business, as a way of life, as competition.

“I’d like to see bullfighting taken to a new level, and I don’t see anyone other than = the PBF doing that,” Nelson said. “My commitment is to make the PBF work.”

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