Yes, the old rodeo clowns are at it again. The Rodeo Clown Reunion is gathering August 12th through the 15th at Coffeyville, Kansas, during the Inter-State Fair & Rodeo. Their will be laughs galore, funny looking outfits and make-up familiar to these laugh-getters from yesteryear, as well as acts that have been part of the rodeo clown’s repertoire for nigh on to 70 years or more. Coffeyville, BEWARE, you had better get your grin on, and lock up your animals, cause you’ll need it when these ‘characters’ arrive in town.
The Rodeo Clown Reunion is held ‘sometime’ in a two or three year period at a PRCA rodeo. It is not a club, and doesn’t require dues. What is required is the experience of having spent some years in the rodeo arena saving bull riders from death or injury by slapping snuffy ole bulls across the face, or throwing their bodies in front of a 2,000 pound raging bovine, to save cowboys from being their target. These old renegades have suffered injuries, like major tears in their skin that can require hundreds of stitches, or broken bones that stick out through the skin and puzzle doctors as to where they need to ‘put these protruding bones so they’ll be back in the correct spot’.
Most of these characters have traveled across the United States to work rodeos for months at a time, while their wives and children are at home ‘taking care of chores and schoolwork’, but during the summer their families joined them and got a great lesson in geography by traveling to unheard of towns, seeing sights along the way they might never have seen, and meeting new friends their age at the rodeo who often have become life-long friends. While dad was ‘working’ in the arena, they might have spent most of their time, under the bleachers playing with new-found friends. It is a life that is unique. It can be lonely at times, but can also be the most exciting time of their lives.
These former funnymen and heroes of the arena are tough as nails and as sensitive and kind to the young and aged as possible. Their adrenalin has raced through their bodies when a raging bull is headed right for them, or when they hear the laughter from the fans when they just performed a favorite act. The profession is a paradox and there is no other job like it. These amazing rodeo clowns miss it when they retire, whether they are forced to retire due to injury or they just know their reactions have slowed down and it is time to say farewell. But the Rodeo Clown Reunion lets these oldsters get that spring to their step and the mind recalls those jokes long forgotten once they don that familiar outfit and make-up that is theirs alone.
If you can attend the rodeo in Coffeyville August 12th through the 15th, you will see these characters in action. Their step may be a little slower but their ability to make everyone laugh and be entertained is still as strong as it was during their earlier time in the arena. Put these dates, August 12th through the 15th, on your summer calendar and we’ll see you in Coffeyville, Kansas, located in the center of the United States!!
For more information about the Inter-State Fair & Rodeo contact them at 620-251-2550 or at P. O. Box 457, Coffeyville, Kansas 67337. For more information about the Rodeo Clown Reunion contact me through this Blog.
The Rodeo Clown Reunion is held ‘sometime’ in a two or three year period at a PRCA rodeo. It is not a club, and doesn’t require dues. What is required is the experience of having spent some years in the rodeo arena saving bull riders from death or injury by slapping snuffy ole bulls across the face, or throwing their bodies in front of a 2,000 pound raging bovine, to save cowboys from being their target. These old renegades have suffered injuries, like major tears in their skin that can require hundreds of stitches, or broken bones that stick out through the skin and puzzle doctors as to where they need to ‘put these protruding bones so they’ll be back in the correct spot’.
Most of these characters have traveled across the United States to work rodeos for months at a time, while their wives and children are at home ‘taking care of chores and schoolwork’, but during the summer their families joined them and got a great lesson in geography by traveling to unheard of towns, seeing sights along the way they might never have seen, and meeting new friends their age at the rodeo who often have become life-long friends. While dad was ‘working’ in the arena, they might have spent most of their time, under the bleachers playing with new-found friends. It is a life that is unique. It can be lonely at times, but can also be the most exciting time of their lives.
These former funnymen and heroes of the arena are tough as nails and as sensitive and kind to the young and aged as possible. Their adrenalin has raced through their bodies when a raging bull is headed right for them, or when they hear the laughter from the fans when they just performed a favorite act. The profession is a paradox and there is no other job like it. These amazing rodeo clowns miss it when they retire, whether they are forced to retire due to injury or they just know their reactions have slowed down and it is time to say farewell. But the Rodeo Clown Reunion lets these oldsters get that spring to their step and the mind recalls those jokes long forgotten once they don that familiar outfit and make-up that is theirs alone.
If you can attend the rodeo in Coffeyville August 12th through the 15th, you will see these characters in action. Their step may be a little slower but their ability to make everyone laugh and be entertained is still as strong as it was during their earlier time in the arena. Put these dates, August 12th through the 15th, on your summer calendar and we’ll see you in Coffeyville, Kansas, located in the center of the United States!!
For more information about the Inter-State Fair & Rodeo contact them at 620-251-2550 or at P. O. Box 457, Coffeyville, Kansas 67337. For more information about the Rodeo Clown Reunion contact me through this Blog.
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