TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Hearing the horse’s hooves running across the practice pen, Angel Garcia Nunez listened to and paid attention to his horse Trooper.
He’s legally blind and is a bronc rider who competes in rodeos.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me you can’t see, you cant do this. Nah! I can do it!” he exclaimed enthusiastically.
He’s 26 years old and a lot of people call him the Blind Bandit. He can often be seen on the East Side of Tucson training at Heart of the Horse, a place that focuses on equine therapy.
“Riding the saddle horses, just getting that motion, feeling like the movements of the horse and just being able to adapt to it,” Garcia Nunez said about training.
He’s already adapting to being in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
He has his sights set on competing in the Tucson Rodeo but he needs a permit and a thousand dollars in earnings to buy his pro card.
“Catching the horse, putting the halter on, that’d probably be the hardest, because they tend to walk away if they don’t want to come out,” he said.
He said it can also be hard being legally blind, something that he wasn’t born with. He shot himself back in 2019 after losing his best friend Tone.
“If you ever needed anything and he was able to help you, he would be right there for you,” he said about Tone.
When he trains and competes in rodeos, he takes Tone’s memory into gaining experience. He’s already been in 10 rodeos, some even out of state, and is waiting for the day he makes it to the Tucson Rodeo.
He’s already gone to clinics with competitors and even goes to the Tucson Rodeo every year, spectating in the stands.
“I hear my buddies getting announced by Will Rasmussen and I’m like all right, we’re going to be there next year,” he said.
In the meantime, he’s already training his mentee Logan Lingdren, who is also learning to ride bronc horses.
“When getting over something as being blind and then still wanting to bronc ride, it made me realize I can do that,” Lindgren said.
Garcia Nunez said no one is stopping him when it comes to competing, and said people in his shoes, or boots in this case, shouldn’t be discouraged.
“You know what you can do physically and mentally, nothing should stop you. Don’t listen to no one,” he advised.
Garcia Nunez is hoping one day he’ll open up a business for people who want to use horse riding as a form of therapy.
He said this year is the last time he’ll be watching from the stands, because he can’t wait for the day he hears his name announced at the rodeo. Meanwhile, he has his best friend Tone in mind.
“I kind of just try and carry on that legacy that he had…care for others, mean what you say, say what you mean,” he said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
