page 6
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, march 18, 1981
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Ben Eby, Mike Ulmer and Jimmy Mack
have been clowning around together
for six years. Their routines produce a
lot of laughs and a lot of sighs of relief
from cowboys who would otherwise be
running from bulls if the three weren't
there to distract the big animals.
Eby, Ulmer and Mack are rodeo clowns
and their lives are a combination of make
up, dust and the personalities of bulls.
Bulls have personalities like people,
Eby said, and the animals travel the same
circuit with the cowboys and the clowns.
After a while, the clowns become very
familiar with bulls' personalities.
Some bulls are meaner than others
and will go after a rider as soon as he's
down, IZIby said. The clowns have to
distract the bull immediately.
How? By swatting him in the face
with a red hat. But if some should shake
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their heads and that off as pure insanity,
Eby says it isn't.
"The closer he is to you, the easier it
is to react and move out of the way,"
Eby said.
However, there is a certain amount of
"kamikaze" in the life of every clown be
cause, says Elby, "when a rider is in
trouble, you do whatever it takes to get
the bull off the man."
However, Eby said, he doesn't have
any trouble getting life insurance.
Although all three profess a love affair
with the life of a rodeo clown, such a life
takes its toll. The three are on the road
12 months a year.
Only Elby is married, and his wile and
son were with him in Lincoln during the
interview, at an exhibition of the "World's
Toughest Rodeo."
Eby is the "old man" of the trio, hav
ing been a rodeo clown for 14 years.
The U.S. Marines had a rodeo team and
his friends talked him into getting involved
when he was in the service.
When he was discharged, he turned
professional and has been a year-round,
full-time clown ever since.
Ulmer said he has been clowning for
eight years.
'There is a lot more to rodeo than
clowning and distracting the bull away
from the rider," Ulmer said.
"You have to aware of whether a
rider is right-handed or left-handed be
cause it will determine which way he will
fall."
Ulmer said when a rider gets into
trouble each clown has to react instantly
Having been involved in rodeo compe
tition all his life, Ulmer said he first tried
clowning at the age of 19 when a clown
failed to show up for a junior rodeo he
was entered in.
Jimmy Mack said he fell in love with
the sport six years ago. He has been involv
ed in rodeos since he entered one in
Chicago at the age of 12.
Mack said he likes the independence
he has with the job and couldn't picture
doing anything else.
He said it is important to "read the
bull" and know what position a partner
is in.
"There can be no showing off. You
have to treat it as a job," Mack said.
"A couple of bulls know which side
the cowboy will fall and will be right
on top of him. So you have to be right
there."
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Photos by
Mitch Brdiicka
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