Courtesy of the PRCA
SPRINGS, Colo. – Greg Rumohr, the 1990 world champion freestyle bullfighter and a three-time reserve world champion, died May 11 when a piece of heavy equipment he was delivering to a ranch in Cranfills Gap, Texas, fell on him. He was 53.
Rumohr, a native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in May 1988 and spent the next 24 seasons developing a reputation for being one of the toughest and most athletic bullfighters the sport has ever seen.
Before moving to Texas and making rodeo his career, Rumohr had been a four-time Golden Gloves champion, a Junior Olympic Boxing champion, a two-time Alberta Junior Hockey League All-Star Team participant and a Class A hunting and fishing guide.
He got his first big bullfighting break in 1989 when his mentor, Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Rex Dunn, was forced into retirement by an injury and gave Rumohr all of his remaining contracts, including the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte, Neb.
“This guy thrives on the impossible,” Dunn once said of Rumohr. “He thrives on doing what no one else can do.”
Rumohr worked the North Platte event for the next 23 years, until his retirement in 2011, when he was presented with the committee’s Trail Boss Award for his longtime service.
“He’s just done a wonderful job for us inside and outside the arena as far as public appearances, autograph signings and anything else we need,” rodeo co-chairman Marty Petersen told the North Platte Telegraph at the time. “Not to mention that he’s one of the best cowboy protection bullfighters in the nation.”
Rumohr worked the 2003 Tour Finale in Dallas and served as a bullfighter at the RAM Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo in 1991.
His athleticism allowed him to excel on the Wrangler Bullfight Tour for many years. Rumohr made the freestyle finals, held in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, 11 times from 1989-2000 (when the competition ended).
He won the world championship in 1990 by 21.5 points over Donny Sparks and was runner-up in 1995, 1997 and 1999.
Funeral arrangements are pending and will be posted on
www.prorodeo.com as soon as they become available.
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