Andy Burelle was 19 before he saw his first rodeo, and the experience triggered in him an obsessive-compulsive disorder of sorts. As soon as he saw cowboys riding bulls in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, about 45 miles southeast of his hometown of Brighton, Mich., Burelle knew he had to try it. Ten years later, Burelle, who spent a couple of years based in Scott City before moving to his current home in Oklahama, still can't explain what compelled him to ride his first bull. Although Michigan might not spring to mind when it comes to rodeo country, Burelle said he had no trouble finding a place to try bull riding in his home state and was immediately hooked by the adrenaline rush of trying to stay atop a 1-ton bull for an 8-second thrill ride. Burelle might still be riding bulls on the rodeo circuit if a rodeo livestock contractor hadn't noticed his speed and agility around the arena and suggested he try bullfighting. Burelle did indeed have the skills and talent for bullfighting, earning his professional credential in less than a year and rising to the top of the profession in the past couple of years. Burelle has gotten better with his bullfighting technique, learning to do with strategy what he used to accomplish with speed. "I don't work as hard as I used to," he said, adding he has over the past few years gotten better at anticipating what a bull will do. "They call it having bull savvy." It has shown in Burelle's accomplishments in freestyle bullfighting. In 2004, he finished third in the Professional Bull Riders' World Bullfighting Championships. He qualified again last year, but he had to miss the event after fracturing his right ankle protecting a bull rider. That rider, Matt Austin, would go on to win the world title at the National Finals Rodeo.