BULL RIDING Clowning around at the rodeo

The cowboys, clowns and bulls will be coming to The Q in Cleveland.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Bull riders are crazy folk, but what does that make rodeo clowns or rodeo entertainment, as they like to be called?
It's their job to distract the bull by putting their lives on the line while the fallen rider makes it back to safety. Well, crazy comes to mind.
"You know, it's really like having a car wreck at a pretty good rate of speed," said Frankie "Punkintown" Smith. "It depends on the bull. But if he's standing out there 25 yards from you and gets a dead run, it is quite [an experience]. My barrel weighs 130 pounds and I weigh another 175 lbs., and when that bull hits that thing, he can launch it. I've got videotape of a bull hitting that thing and sending it higher than a 12-foot wall."
That's a lot of bull and a lot of Tylenol. But Smith loves it. In fact, when it became obvious about a decade ago his days of bull riding were numbered, the South Carolina native gave up the chaps for some face paint, a big red cowboy hat and some over-sized trousers.
Attire
While the funny face may give the kids a chuckle and the red hat perhaps distracts the bull, it's the baggy pants that the 41-year-old rodeo lover says gives him the edge in a battle between man and beast.
"We wear big, baggy, loose clothes to fool a bull," Smith said. "If a bull is coming at you, you fake him out and dart to the left and cut back to the right while you're clothes are still going left and he's going to his right and your left."
That's quite a game plan to keep yourself alive. Still, it's often not enough to keep the bull from getting a shot at both rider and clown.
"Yeah, in this sport, I don't think you can avoid close calls," Smith said. "I've had two concussions, blew a knee out and had back surgery. And again, in this sport, how do you avoid injuries? It ain't never if you're going to get hurt but when and how bad?"
Tough show
You can be sure audiences will hope to see plenty of action and bull riding this month when The Dodge World's Toughest Bulls and Broncs stampedes into Cleveland for shows Saturday and Sunday at The Q.
"The key words to this thing are World's Toughest," Smith said. "This is an invitation only. Cowboys that are at the top of their game in bareback riding and saddle and bull riding, they're fabulous. You got the best of the best and it's the world's toughest. If you've never been to a rodeo, I want to challenge you. Come to World's Toughest because it ain't for momma's boys, and it's going to be exciting from the beginning all the way to the end. There will never be a dull moment. You'll enjoy every bit of it. Because it ain't boys trying to ride, it's boys coming for a check."