asprilla

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/q...-1225955341526

Saw this on my rss feed earlier... the only reason I opened the article was the following phrase:

"ONE of the world's top rodeo clowns"


How does one become one of the world's top rodeo clowns? Do they compete against each other in championships?

Dorothy

Yep. A few years ago my OH used to supplement his income by doing security at rodeos here in WA. They're actually a lot of fun! And any rodeo rider will tell you that the clown is the most important member of any rodeo. THey're the one who stops the bull from killing the rider when he's bucked off.

asprilla

Do they dress in a clown outfit ? or is "clown" just the name for them?

Yep I wouldn't mind checking out a rodeo in future...

spartacus

I don't understand . . . what's a bull got to be bucked off about? . . . violence never solved anything.

Dorothy

No, they don't dress like traditional clowns. They dress in colourful costumes and when the rider is thrown they attract the bull's attention with the bright colours and movement in order to get the bull away from the rider (who is usually lying on the ground). At the last rodeo we saw one of the clown ended up with a broken collarbone from a bull headbutting him. It's not a profession for sooks!

jothefw

We had a guy work for us for a while who was one. It's well paid and very competitive - if a clown's good then they'll be paid top dollar to appear at a rodeo.

If you ask me it's pay well worth it - our bulls are mean enough and they're not trained to perform like the ones in the rodeo circuit!

asprilla

hmm... Certainly not a job I'll be applying for in the near future.

Until this morning I had never even heard of a rodeo clown...and had it not been for the wise folk on BE, I would have spent the rest of my life thinking that they were no different from clowns at kid's parties.

moneypenny20

Those ones are terrifying, my girls (15 and 18) are scared still of clowns Not sure about rodeo ones but I think they'd be ok.