TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As Angel Garcia Nunez used his cane to make his way to his seat at the Tucson Rodeo, he had a look of excitement on his face.
“I feel like the Rodeo’s what makes Tucson,” he said.
While he can’t see what’s going on, he’s listening intently.
Like so many of the competitors in the rodeo, he grew up riding horses.
“I have no limitations. I can get on that horse in the arena. I can run, I can go fast just like anyone else,” Garcia Nunez said.
However, in 2020, life took a turn for him when he lost his good friend and Garcia Nunez did something that would change his life forever.
He survived suicide, but it left him legally blind.
“I thought I was ready to check out, but the good Lord had another plan for me,” he said.
After other horse riders with disabilities inspired him, Garcia Nunez picked himself back up and started riding horses as a form of therapy.
“I feel alive when I’m on a horse and honestly it’s helped me tremendously,” he said.
As he listened to the competitors at the rodeo on Sunday, his third time going this year, he was looking forward to riding a bull in May. His teacher is a man with just one eye.
His goal is to compete in the rodeo and inspire others in his same shoes, well, boots really.
“It’d be like a life-changing experience to compete in front of my hometown and hopefully win,” Garcia Nunez said.
However, his ultimate goal is to open up a business so he can teach people how to ride horses as a form of therapy.
“I want to be able to show them how it’s helped me and so they can fall in love with it just like I have,” he said.
He’s already inspiring people like his best friend Thomas Gompf.
“He teaches me about the rodeo and he doesn’t even see what’s happening, but he knows more of what’s going on than I do,” Gompf said.
While he’s not riding in the rodeo just yet, something he’s not blind to is a positive attitude.
“I love waking up and everyday it’s something, it’s something new,” 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.
