Bull fighting puts clown’s athleticism to test

Rodeo clown JJ Harrison - Photo/CATHERINE BROYLES

Rodeo clown JJ Harrison steps out of the trailer parked off to the side of the bucking chutes. In the trailer Harrison’s wife is putting their 6-week-old son, Huck, down for a nap.

His colleague, Tim Vredenburg, walks up and tosses a stack of Pampers toward Harrison. 

“Tell me those are diapers,” Harrison says as he sits down on a lawn chair, knowing his newborn son will need a pair after he wakes up.

“They are,” Vredenburg replies as he grabs a chair of his own.

Asher, Vredenburg’s 2-year-old son, runs up to stand at his father’s knee, as he opens the tackle box filled with containers of face paint and grease pencils. Asher watches intently as Vredenburg draws large circles around each of his eyes, beginning the process of transforming himself into the professional bull fighter he is.

An hour and a half from now, these men will be dancing and diving around the arena, entertaining rodeo fans and dodging 1,200-pound bulls as they work to keep the cowboys safe. But for now, they’re two dads, enjoying the fact that they have a job that allows them to spend time with their families.

“The whole drunken cowboy stereotype, it’s a thing of the past. There’re a lot of young families here,” Harrison says.

Hearing the word “families,” Mick Thompson, the second bull fighter working the show, pulls up a seat and joins the conversation. His 6-year-old daughter, Payton, hasn’t begun traveling with him yet, but he whips open his cell phone to show off the newest photo of his little girl. Friday was her last day of school, so she hasn’t joined him yet, but he’s counting the days until she joins him on the road.

“I used to worry about what would happen to (Payton) if I got hurt, but then I realized that she’d be fine. One of these guys would scoop her up,” Thompson says. He looks at his friends and smiles. “She’d be fine.”

Teamwork is the key

The kinship these men feel for one another carries into the arena. Vredenburg and Thompson are known as the “Dynamic Duo” on the rodeo circuit, working seamlessly with one another as they pull the bulls away from the cowboys at the end of each ride.

“There’s no room for ego,” Thompson says. “We have to work as a team.”

As a rodeo clown, Harrison sees it as his responsibility as a team member to serve as a “bridge between the contestants and the fans.” His goal is not “to be the show” but to enhance the show, with the energy and excitement his antics lend to the event. The contestants are “my good friends. I want them to be getting the recognition they deserve,” he says.

Professional bull fighter Tim Vredenburg applies his face paint under the gaze of his 2 1/2-year-old son, Asher. When asked if he wants to fight bulls like his daddy, Asher shook his head no. He has his heart set on becoming a mutton buster. - Photo/CATHERINE BROYLES

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is imperative for cowboys who desire longevity in a sport where injuries will catalyze premature retirement.

The road to the rodeo

All three men were drawn to the rodeo at different points in their lives and came for different reasons. Harrison got on a horse for the first time as a teen, simply because “it was the tough thing to do.” He became serious about the sport when he joined the rodeo team at Washington State University and eventually found his niche as a clown. After completing his undergraduate degree and obtaining his master’s degree in education, Harrison decided that he needed to forgo the rodeo life to pursue a traditional career. He spent the next eight years teaching in Walla Walla.

Last Friday, Harrison locked the door to his office at Lincoln Alternative High School where he served as the dean of students for the last time. He had decided that he was ready to follow his dream. He is now a full time rodeo clown and has already earned titles including the 2007 NPRA (Northwest Professional Rodeo Association) Clown of the Year.

Vredenburg grew up in a rodeo family and was a roper on his high school team. In his own words, he was “kind of a goofy kid” who didn’t have the type of personality that lent itself to the intense competition that comes with timed events.

What Vredenburg felt drawn to was bull fighting. He got his chance to try his hand with the bulls at the age of 17 and has been going strong ever since. “God gave each of us different abilities and he gave me the ability and the drive to do this,” he says.

Thompson is a self-described “city kid” who was drawn to bull fighting when his younger brother began riding bulls. During the week, he works as a federal officer and fitness specialist, but his passion is rodeo. When asked how long he sees himself working as professional bull fighter, Thompson responds, “As long as God gives me fast feet and I have the heart to take a hit from a bull.”

Thompson pauses as one of the rough stock riders taps him on the shoulder. The cowboy has a roll of bandage tape in his hand. He could use some assistance wrapping his ankle before his event. Thompson tips his hat and excuses himself as he steps away to  do what a bull fighter does best, take care of his friends.