Rodeo Clown

A rodeo clown, also known as a bullfighter (US/Canada) or rodeo protection athlete, is a rodeo performer who works in bull riding competitions. The primary job of the rodeo clown is to protect a fallen rider from the bull, whether the rider has been bucked 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 the ability to anticipate a bull's next move. Working closely with very large, very powerful animals, rodeo clown are often injured seriously, and, sometimes, fatally.

In some venues, rodeo clowns wear clown makeup and some may also provide traditional clowning entertainment for the crowd between rodeo events, often parodying aspects of cowboy 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.