Rodeo Clown
After a bull ride ends, the bull continues to be a dangerous and unpredictable animal. That is why some rodeo clowns are more than comic entertainers. The main job of rodeo clowns is to protect the cowboys from the bulls. Whether working as a bullfighter, barrel man or clown, they all try to distract the bull long enough to allow the rider to escape from the arena without injury.
Throughout the rodeo, the bullfighter might do his best to keep things lively, but it’s when the rider is thrown, possibly hurt or maybe hung up in his rope, then the Rodeo Clown becomes a lifesaver. The clown or barrel man does his best to distract the bull until the cowboy can reach safety or frees a rider’s hung up hand. For the clown or barrel man, that means at least making himself a "target", and probably pulling a variety of risky stunts to get the job done. Bulls are quite fast and agile, and their surprising sudden moves are dangerous.
The barrel man spends much of his time in a padded barrel, which serves as an extra target for the bull and as an island for safety for the bullfighter. The barrel provides some protection but the bull can easily tip the barrel over and possibly injure the barrel man by stepping in or striking his horn through one of the barrel’s open ends.
These men are invaluable and without them there would be a lot more injuries to the cowboys.