Rodeo clown
Encyclopedia
A rodeo clown, also known as a bullfighter (US/Canada) or rodeo protection athlete, is a rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...

 performer who works in bull riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....

 competitions. The primary job of the rodeo clown is to protect a fallen rider from the bull
Bull
Bull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...

, whether the rider has been bucked off
Bucking
Bucking is a movement performed by a horse or bull in which the animal lowers his head and raises his hindquarters into the air, usually while kicking out with his hind legs. If powerful, it may unseat the rider enough so that he falls off....

 or has jumped off of the animal. The rodeo clown distracts the bull and provides an alternative target for the bull to attack. These individuals expose themselves to great danger in order to protect the cowboy. To this end, they wear bright, loose-fitting clothes that are designed to tear away, with protective gear fitted underneath. Rodeo clowns require speed, agility and ability to predetermine a bull's next move when possible. The job is very dangerous because the regular exposure to large, powerful bulls exposes a rodeo clown to a range of potential injuries, which are common and can be fatal.

In some venues, rodeo clowns wear clown makeup and some may also provide traditional clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...

ing entertainment for the crowd between rodeo events, often parodying aspects of cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

 culture. However, many modern bullfighters do not dress as clowns. At larger events, the American style bullfighter is one of three types of rodeo clown hired, along with a barrelman and comic, or traditional clown. Some barrelmen provide both comedy and support to bullfighters, but the job of a bullfighter is generally distinct from that of the comic.

History

Bullfighting was reported as Wick Peth's profession in 1967, and Jimmy Anderson was reported to have begun his career in 1975.

In Australia, rodeo clowns were a part of rodeos and agricultural shows for many years. They were hired to entertain the spectators between events and to help manage the bullocks, steers or bulls in the arena. In the 1930s, with the introduction of aggressive Brahman bulls and Brahman crossbreds, the job became much more serious. In the late 20th century, acknowledging the great danger faced by the profession, the term bullfighter began to replace the name rodeo clown in formal use. The comedy aspect of clown work, as opposed to protection of rodeo athletes, began to disappear in the USA by the late 1970s.

Technique

The rodeo clowns enter the rodeo arena on foot, before the bull is released from the bucking chute
Cattle crush
A cattle crush , squeeze chute , standing stock, or simply stock is a strongly built stall or cage for holding cattle, horses, or other livestock safely while they are examined, marked, or given veterinary treatment. Cows may be made to suckle calves in a crush...

. They stand on either side of the chute as the bull is released and work as a team to distract the bull and thus protect the rider and each other. Their role is particularly important when a rider has been injured, in which case the rodeo clown interposes himself between the bull and the rider, or uses techniques such as running off at an angle, throwing a hat, or shouting, so that the injured rider can exit the ring. When a rider has been hung up, they face the extremely dangerous task of trying to free the rider, with one team member going to the bull's head and the other attempting to release the rider.

Typically, rodeo clowns work in groups of two or three, with two free-roaming rodeo clowns and sometimes a third, often more clownish-behaving team member, who is known as the barrel man. The barrel man uses a large padded barrel that he can jump in and out of easily, and the barrel helps to protect the rodeo clown from the bull. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, rodeo clowns generally do not use barrels.

Competition

Bullfighting has grown in popularity, so that in addition to being a job in its own right, it is a competitive event at rodeos around the United States. When not working to protect bull riders, rodeo clowns also have their own performances. Bulls are turned into the arena and the clown works with the animal, evaluated based upon the aptitude he displays in controlling and maneuvering the bull, precision in jumping the bull, contact with the bull, and handling of the barrel. Similar skills are sometimes displayed at traditional rodeos in intermission acts. A typical format is a 60- or 70-second encounter between bull
Bull
Bull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...

 and bullfighter, in which the bullfighter scores points for various maneuvers. In contrast to the older sport of bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...

, no harm is done to the bull in rodeo bullfighting.

Recognition

From 1981–2000, Wrangler Jeans
Wrangler Jeans
Wrangler is a manufacturer of jeans and other clothing items. The brand is owned by the VF Corporation, who also own Lee, JanSport and The North Face, among others. Its headquarters is in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, with production plants in a variety of locations throughout the world...

 sponsored the Bullfighter of the Year contest at the National Finals Rodeo
National Finals Rodeo
The National Finals Rodeo, organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, is the premier championship rodeo event in the United States. Wrangler Jeans is the title sponsor for the 10-day event, commonly just called the National Finals or NFR, which is also sometimes referred to as the...

, won five times by Rob Smets
Rob Smets
Robert Edward "Rob" Smets , known professionally as The Kamikaze Kid, is a color commentator for the Professional Bull Riders tour and a former five-time Wrangler World Champion bullfighter.-Biography:...

. The California Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association designates a Bullfighter of the Year annually. This title was won eight times by Donny Martin. Other titles include the American Cowboys Association Freestyle Bullfighting Champion and the Ultimate Challenge Freestyle Bullfighting Champion.

Well-known rodeo clowns include Flint Rasmussen
Flint Rasmussen
Flint Rasmussen is perhaps the most famous "rodeo clown" or "rodeo barrelman" in the sport of bull riding. Rasmussen and his wife, Katie, have two daughters, Shelby and Paige...

, Quail Dobbs
Quail Dobbs
Quail Dobbs is a famous rodeo clown and performer, inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also inducted in the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2002, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2004.His parents were Acie and Avis Dobbs, and his...

, Johnny Tatum
Johnny Tatum
Johnny Tatum was a famous rodeo clown and bullfighter. He toured the United States for many years entertaining crowds and protecting bullriders. Early in his career, he traveled to Japan with Casey Tibbs to promote the sport of rodeo in that country...

, Jimmy Anderson
Jimmy Anderson (rodeo clown)
Jimmy D. "Jungle" Anderson was an American bullfighter.Born in Fort Worth, Texas Anderson originally raced horses until he grew past the size of the average jockey. He later became a bullfighter and rodeo clown and took part in his first rodeo in 1975...

, Rudy Burns, Miles Hare, Kajun Kidd, Buck LeGrand, Rob Smets
Rob Smets
Robert Edward "Rob" Smets , known professionally as The Kamikaze Kid, is a color commentator for the Professional Bull Riders tour and a former five-time Wrangler World Champion bullfighter.-Biography:...

, Leon Coffee, Duane Hargo, movie actor Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...

and Australians Matt Darmody, Shane 'Maddog' Simpson and Nathan Marshall.

Schools exist to provide training for potential rodeo clowns.
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