By Jeff D'Andrea

Byrne brothers return home for weekend’s Clunie-Cooper Memorial

May 6, 2015 | 4:45 PM

If Tanner Byrne doesn’t win first place this Friday and Saturday at the 2015 Clunie-Cooper Memorial Professional Bull Riding Event, it won’t be from a lack of motivation.

The last time Tanner Byrne was competing in Prince Albert on May 3, 2013, he was fractions of a second away from winning his hometown event.  

Not only does he have the opportunity to get the first place prize he was agonizingly close to two years ago, he’ll also be surrounded by friends and bull riding in the memory of two more.

The Clunie-Cooper Memorial is put on annually in tribute to Max Clunie and Wade Cooper, who were important in the local bull riding and rodeo scenes before they tragically passed away in a plane crash in 2011. They meant a lot to Tanner, who ended up marrying Max’s older sister Meghan last summer.

“This is an event I want to win more than anything,” said Tanner, 22. “This is my hometown event with the hometown crowd. It’s the Clunie-Cooper Memorial which to me, that’s huge. Max would be my brother-in-law now, right? So this event to me is a really, really big event that I want to succeed at and I want to win that title.”

Safety first

Safety concerns and tips surrounding discarded needles in P.A.

10h ago

Liquor stores must change hours

Prince Albert limits liquor store hours

13h ago

skin care +

LUXE22 Clinic : Elevating Beauty with Expert Treatments

14h ago

Jesse, Tanner’s older brother, is a PBR bullfighter and at last year’s event, he won the Max Clunie Ring of Honour. He’s excited to return home, see some familiar faces and help put on a successful event.

“On a personal level, to be able to come back and see family and old friends, it’s awesome to come back here,” said Jesse, who won. “For an event of this magnitude to be here in Prince Albert, it’s just awesome. There’s not many of these that happen in Canada, so to have it here is pretty cool.”

“I know the guys work hard to make sure that it’s a world class event right here.”

But before that event gets going Friday and Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre, the Byrnes’ are having a two-day bull riding, bullfighting school Wednesday and Thursday just outside Prince Albert.

The Byrne brothers have already built themselves impressive reputations and have a few pointers for youngsters looking to get into the sport.

Tanner is coming off a successful 2014 season where he received the PBR Glen Keeley Award for being the Top Canadian rider. He finished 14th overall in the World Standings and cleared just shy of $149,000 of prize money. Byrne is currently ranked as the top Canadian again so far this year in the 22nd position.

Jesse is the first Canadian bullfighter to be at the Built Ford Tough Series finals and has been dubbed one of the best ever bullfighters by his peers.

“It’s always interesting, you never know what’s going to come of it,” said Jesse on the schools. “You run into lots of people throughout the year who watched it once and have seen it on T.V. and think they can handle it or it’s something they want to try.

“It’s one of those things you find out right away. You’re going to know right quick if it’s something you never want to do again, or that’s all you want to do.”

Just about every day was a bullfighting/bull riding school at the Byrne household. Ryan, or ‘Pappa Byrne’ as he’s often known as, was a heck of a bullfighter in his day and was inducted into the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2004. If he wasn’t delivering the lesson, his eldest son Bo or nephew Scott would be there.

“It was something that we were born into and raised into,” said Tanner. “I played all the other sports too, I played hockey with the Pirates [with now-professional hockey player Josh Manson] and all the teams here in P.A. It wasn’t like we were ever forced in to be cowboys or riding bulls, but it was really all I had passion for. It’s all I really wanted to do since I can remember was wanting to be a world champion.

“I love every moment of it. We get to travel around the world, riding the best bucking bulls in the world and we get to be a family. My best friends are out on the road.”

Also helping out with the two-day school this year is retired and accomplished rider Luke Snyder, and current Canadian rider Ty Pozzobon, who’s slated to compete this weekend after being sidelined with a concussion since November.

“They’re awesome, they’re my best buddies. I’m with them every weekend,” said Pozzobon, 23-year-old from Merritt, B.C., who’s made at least $102,000 in prize money in each of the previous three seasons. “When I’m competing, I stay with Tanner and Jesse.

“When I first started out [in 2010], Tanner wasn’t on the tour yet but Jesse was. He’s a bullfighter but he still took me under his wing and introduced me to everybody. He was awesome, he showed me a lot.”

The dangers are in the sport are obvious. Riders tie themselves to a mean, bucking bull that can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. The art of bullfighting isn’t much safer, as they willingly place themselves between the rider and the bull in the case of a wreck to make sure the riders can escape danger.

When asked who was crazier, Tanner the bullrider or Jesse the bullfighter, both laughed. Jesse said he didn’t think what he was doing was crazy, he was just doing what he loved.

“The job itself is something I love,” said Jesse. “It’s the only reason you’re going to do something of this nature. If you’re going to put yourself in that kind of danger, you better love it. There’s no way around it, you’re going to have to pay a price to do this kind of job.

“For me, it’s being able to help the bull riders. Just knowing what they’re willing to face and then to help them and have their back when they’re doing that, that’s the coolest part for me.”

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea