Posted on 03/01/2005 10:46:32 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
LA GLORIA — David Renk, the only American bullfighter to confirm his status as a matador at the Plaza Mexico in Mexico City, was seriously injured Sunday while performing at the Santa Maria Bullring.
Renk, 42, was fighting a 1,000-pound bull at the bloodless bullfight at about 5 p.m. when a bull pinned him to the ground, cracking seven ribs and collapsing one lung. The other lung was working at only 30 percent capacity when he was rushed to Starr County Memorial Hospital in Rio Grande City, then to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, where he remained Monday night.
"He got out of danger around 4 a.m.," said his father, Fred Renk, who owns the bullring.
"He’s got a tube in the lower part of his ribcage," Renk said. "He’s got a Darvon IV (intravenous tube) to help him endure the pain. The whole left side, all seven ribs are broken."
Renk said he was glad he had an ambulance standing by at the bullring.
"If we hadn’t gotten him there to the hospital, he wouldn’t have made it," said Fred Renk. "He got hit hard. The head was on top of him, just kept grinding him in the ring. Everybody was out there with a cape trying to take him (the bull) away, but he refused to leave David."
Renk said the 800 spectators at the show experienced some anxious moments as the helpers tried to get the bull away from his son.
"They screamed," he said. "It shook them up to see David on the ground. This is only the second time of him getting hit. He was wounded in Matamoros in 1981."
This is the most serious injury at the bullring since it opened in 2001, Renk said.
Helpers were finally able to lead the bull away, and Renk was rushed to the hospital. Doctors at Starr County Memorial quickly realized they didn’t have the equipment necessary to tend his injuries, and he was taken to the Harlingen hospital.
Fred Renk plans to have the next fight on March 13, as scheduled. Other than the brutal goring, Renk said he had a successful afternoon Sunday. The performance featured Goyo Nava, who fought in the Portuguese style on horseback.
The audience was pleased.
"It was a tremendous fight," he said. "They loved it."
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Travis M. Whitehead covers Starr County, Mission, law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4452.
Nothing like a good sharp horn in the butt to keep you on your toes.
South Texas Bullfighting Ping!
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Tell that to the bulls.
What the heck is a bloodless bullfight? What ends it except when it ends like this one did?
You mess with the bulls.....
What a oddly written story. Perhaps Mr. Whitehead should finish journalism school.
Maybe they are just saying it's bloodless?
Other than THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?
Viva La Goria!
There is a reason Spanish/Mexican fighting Bulls are killed in Mexico. This is because they are pretty smart and LEARN not to bite on the fakes that the bullfighter tries to make him go for.
This is why some bulls are killed by the matador after just a few passes and others are "fought" for longer. The matador can feel when the bull is starting to get the hang of his style and it is prudent not to fight him any longer.
The clowns that fight these bulls in rodeos and get chased around by them know this. The bulls just don't go for the fakes so the clowns have to stay on their toes.
I suppose the bull has to win sometimes or they wouldn't be much of a fight.
The "bloodless kill" is symbolized by the fighter removing a red rose from the bull’s shoulder.
http://cf.themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=494&Section=Local
A bloodless fight ends when the rose is removed from the bull, a blood fight ends with a bunch of spears stuck in the bull...or something like that.
Does this mean the bull is not killed?
Interesting. I went to the bullfights in Madrid a few years ago, and they certainly weren't bloodless. It was an interesting spectacle, but I can't imagine buying season tickets.
Si.
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